


A New Order

by MimicMariana (LaEmperatrizMariana)



Series: ☆ It's "Unova" like "Universe" ☆ [4]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Assassination Mention, Explicit Language, Gen, Monarchy Mention, Talking Pokemon, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-06 04:13:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21220373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaEmperatrizMariana/pseuds/MimicMariana
Summary: Yet another fic that nobody else asked for, but I wanted it to exist, so I wrote it.King N attempts to strike a balance between his sovereignty and looking out for his family, now that he's the head of the household since his father has fallen ill. Ghetsis, on the other hand, struggles to keep it all together as life just keeps on going.





	1. End of the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> **None of these chapters were beta-read, in terms of looking for spelling and grammatical mistakes.**
> 
>   * [American Royals](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726063/chapters/49240220) ended like a show that wasn't able to get its next season renewed. (But then, that's my fault because I was rushing to wrap it up.) This is a proper continuation of this story.   

>   * Hopefully, this trilogy will be the end of this BW/BW2-ish slightly canon-compliant nonsense...unless I decide to write that museum heist fic. <strike>Which I probably will, but likely insert into anything BW2.</strike>  

>   * As for the title, it is a reference to an old Transformers Marvel comic issue titled, “[The New Order](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_New_Order)”. It’s most well known for having Decepticon Scientist, Shockwave, in some Bigfoot stance in front of a brick wall where he wrote in plain English, “ARE ALL DEAD.” As you may know, Shockwave has one eye and one hand, just like Ghetsis. So obviously, if I had drawn cover art for this fic, it would feature Ghetsis with the exact Shockwave pose and “ARE ALL DEAD.” etched on the wall presumably with his Team Plasma staff (cane) that he doesn’t even use in this fic.
>   


**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthea is getting ready to go back to school and she needs all the help she can get.

Despite it being a calm couple of weeks, Anthea had to return to classes and the prospect of doing so was nerve-wracking. Now that her younger brother was the King of Unova, he could no longer be counted on to drop her off wherever she was to be stationed. To make matters more complicated, Anthea was studying to become a pokémon nurse and this required her to do a clinical rotation at any of the various Pokémon Centers located throughout Unova. Due to King N’s and Team Plasma’s restrictions on pokémon training, Anthea worried about possible hostility directed towards her. Unlike her brother and father, Anthea didn't have thick skin and couldn’t possibly endure any of it. She also couldn’t tell her brother or father about her concerns either because they’d both retaliate.

Sensing her trainer’s distress, Anthea’s Gothitelle made up her mind to search for Victini, who wandered about in the castle. It was particularly difficult since psychic-types block other psychic-types from locating them telepathically. After searching for nearly an hour, Gothitelle gave up and headed to the kitchen for a snack. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she heard muffled screams coming from a large cookie jar (which was basically an urn where the pokémon treats were kept). Gliding over to the cookie jar, Gothitelle opened it and found Victini inside, covered in crumbs.

Victini took a deep breath, smiling at Gothitelle she said, “Thank you for opening this jar. I almost couldn't breathe. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

“Yes,” said Gothitelle, as she narrowed her eyes. “I would like for Anthea not get bullied in school, so she can finish her courses and become a nurse.”

“About that,” said Victini, “I can only help if she’s aiming to win. I don’t exactly grant wishes, I’m no Jirachi.”

“She wants to succeed,” said Gothitelle. “Surely that counts as winning. Her goal is to become a pokémon nurse, so she can help Team Plasma in their continued victory. After all, she found it strange that despite existing for about 25 years, the healthcare part of pokémon rehabilitation wasn’t properly addressed. She wants to personally do something about it, by managing it professionally.”

“Wait, who is running Team Plasma?” asked Victini.

“Anthea’s father,” replied Gothitelle. “The green-haired man that has one good eye, who everyone follows around.”

Victini frowned. Thinking about how to reply, she said, “This man doesn’t know what he’s doing. He only knew what he wanted, and that was to win; it’s why this massive oversight exists. Everything Reshiram has said about him is true.” Taking another deep breath, Victini said, “At least now, it seems that N will be in charge. So things will definitely improve. It is nice to see his kids share his same passion for pokémon and improve upon the foundation he’s built, which is salvageable.”

“I’ve had visions where it wasn’t salvageable,” said Gothitelle. “Those make me cry more than the father’s first possible death. Everything after Team Plasma’s defeat remained unchanged, with pokémon forever being exploited by humans for their own selfish amusement. But your intervention has turned this dark vision into something that will never occur. For that, I’m thankful.”

“I will help Anthea win,” said Victini. “But I do have one question, why would anyone bully her? She’s very nice. I remember how she healed my injured leg after N brought me to her.”

“The school is tied up with the Pokémon League,” said Gothitelle. “The same people who tell kids to catch wild pokémon and force them to battle in tournaments.”

“Interesting,” said Victini. “These sound like the people that N is against. If this is indeed the case, why is Anthea there? It sounds like she’s fraternizing with the enemy. I find it very concerning.”

“I can assure you she’s doing no such thing!” Gothitelle cleared her throat and added, “Anthea just wants to study pokémon medicine so she could treat injured and sick pokémon. However, the only way she can receive this formal education is by going into this program that was run by the league. Sadly, our pokémon biology is too different from humans that she cannot take a nursing course designed to treat humans, and apply what she has learned to us. There are plenty of human nursing programs here in Unova, but only one dedicated to pokémon.”

“Huh…” said Victini, “I could’ve sworn I heard both N and Serperior say that impoverished humans treated themselves with pokémon medicine and it _ works _. I even saw N use a potion on his father when he was sick. But I’m unsure if the father even ‘counts’ since he is partially a pokémon.”

“I believe the potions only worked because humans are normal-types,” said Gothitelle, “Although I think Anthea’s father is Normal/Dragon.”

“So he’s a human Drampa?!” gasped Victini.

“What’s that?” asked Gothitelle.

“A pokémon from a distant region called ‘Alola’,” said Victini. “It has a compassionate personality, but if it is angered, it completely destroys its surroundings with its intense breath. It appears in towns and plays with the children. Drampa will protect kids when they're in danger, so their moms don't have to worry. At least, that is how other humans describe it.”

“That sounds like something Anthea’s father would do, if he wasn’t busy doing speeches or helping N with his kingly duties,” said Gothitelle.

“He would burn entire towns to the ground with his intense dragon breath?!” asked Victini.

“No!” said Gothitelle, “He would be nice to kids.”

“He looks like the type who’d hit kids though,” replied Victini. “Slapping them with his left hand when he's feeling merciful, because he’d obliterate them with his right hand.”

“He would only hit kids if they are being bad,” insisted Gothitelle. “And bad kids _ always _ sympathize with the regional pokémon leagues. Like the leagues, they already view us pokémon as digital commodities, which can be collected and stored in pokéballs for what seems like an eternity. At least, that was what happened to me when I was a Gothita before Team Plasma rescued me. I was in storage for who knows how long.”

Gothitelle and Victini continued to chat as N entered the kitchen. Gothitelle was startled because she didn’t even sense N walk in and didn’t notice how long he had been there, listening to their conversation. 

N was busy waiting for his bread to finish toasting in the toaster. He had heard a lot of the conversation and was uneasy about it. He wasn’t particularly fond of the way they spoke about his father, but then, he had heard other people say even worse things about him. 

Meanwhile, Anthea went to see her father, who was finally alone after attending various meetings. He was sitting down at his desk, reading some handwritten notes by candlelight. Anthea couldn’t recognize the handwriting, because it was too neat for her father to have written it. She hadn't had any time to read what the notes had said, because her father moved them as soon as he sensed her walk in. Right away, Anthea noticed something was wrong, he appeared unsettled by her arrival. (But then, ever since his return from Alola, her father was more expressive and honest with his feelings.)

Keeping her distance, because she felt she had walked in on him doing something private, she said, “Father, I saw my schedule for this upcoming semester posted.”

“You’re stationed quite far, correct?” asked Ghetsis calmly, as he continued to review his notes by candlelight because he couldn’t be bothered to change the burned out light-bulb.

“Yes,” said Anthea. “I’m assigned to Aspertia City, where they opened up that new Normal-type gym. It’s so weird they moved the gym though. Do you think it had anything to do with that ‘Brycen-Man Robbery’ in Nacrene City last year, where one of the robbers dressed up as Brycen-Man and stole a fossil?”

“Perhaps,” replied Ghetsis. “After all, the museum’s director and former gym leader, Mrs. Lenora, is a proud woman. This theft, coupled with her ludicrous accusation that _ I _ was the one who stole it, humiliated her so much she quit.”

“Why would she think it’s you?” chuckled Anthea. “You don’t go out that late, or would wear a skin-tight, revealing outfit like that.”

“She’s a gym leader,” replied Ghetsis. “As an advocate for pokémon liberation, I’m the enemy, as far as she’s concerned. Although I can’t help but wonder what went through that woman’s head to even _ think _ I’d publically dress so…’sexily’. She’s married. This makes me feel bad for her sweet little husband. If your mother had looked at another man in that same way, I’d be so heartbroken. However, your mother was a dignified lady, that I know she would've never…”

Uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed, Ghetsis decided to bring it all back to the original topic in question – Anthea's concern about the upcoming semester. Ghetsis put away his notes, back in his pokédex case and signaled to his daughter to take a seat while he listened attentively to ger. 

“My memory is a bit hazy but aren’t you mostly a psychic-type trainer?” asked Ghetsis.

“Yes, father,” replied Anthea, calmly.

“See…that’s the problem,” replied Ghetsis. “You’ve learned psychic moves to train Gothitelle, and with that knowledge comes with enhanced perception – you can sense possibilities that have not yet come to fruition. The psychic-type pokémon are like this too, especially if they love their human friends. Your concerns are valid but I’m only stating my observations, so you can have them in mind the next time you start getting nervous. I’ve found that rationalizing potential problems is very therapeutic. But if a problem should arise, remember that the sages, your siblings, and I are here to help you.”

Anthea crossed her arms. What he described sounded, word-for-word, exactly like the same thing he’s been going through – haunted by a possibility that has not and most likely, will not, come to fruition. She wanted to say something, but she was afraid of his reaction. But then, she had observed similar behavior from some of her classmates. They were always ready to help those in need, but when they themselves were in trouble, they had no idea what to do. Perhaps her father was no different. She continued to listen to his talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Hello. First thing’s first, I’ve come to question the “logic” behind Team Plasma and what was Lord Ghetsis’ “brilliant plan” in regards to winning because it clearly wasn’t planned out. 
>   * The Regional Legendaries all know each other.
>   * This Ghetsis, had he not gotten partially mind-wiped that he forgot several of the pokémon moves he learned, would’ve done _more_ than just hit children. He would’ve killed them because that's the next logical step.
>   * This Ghetsis is also right-handed. And yes, that’s also the hand that’s withered and blackened. He can’t write with it anymore, so his handwriting is ugly because his left hand never really got used to writing.
>   * The “Brycen-Man Robber” was just some sort of cat burglar that broke into Lenora’s museum. Unovans compared this cat burglar to the movie character simply because the cat burglar wore a very skin-tight, open-front catsuit where his lean, fit physique and thicc ass was clearly visible. This suspect has not been identified or caught. But even if they did catch him, he would probably be released because he looks like he’s too cute to go to jail.
>   * Lenora thinks it’s Ghetsis only because the suspect is light-skinned, tall, and had his long green hair in a bun.


	2. Unspeakable Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best place to have an uncomfortable conversation is in some stranger's van before sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm too used to writing Transformers fanfic that it feels weird not to say that these characters are gonna roll out somewhere. To compensate for this, I've given certain characters cars.

It was the big day, Anthea woke up early and got dressed in her nursing school uniform. Fortunately, her father was up early as well and helped her do her hair in rings. Once she was ready, her father walked her to Colress’ white Volcswagen van, as he picked up her pink rolling luggage that resembled a Munna.

“Good morning Colress,” said Anthea, as she saw Colress pull up in the van.

“Hi, Anthea,” said Colress as he got out of the van and unlocked the doors. “Excited for your first day back in class?”

“Not really,” said Anthea. “I have a bad feeling about it.”

Anthea’s Gothitelle got into the van and sat in the front passenger seat. She reached over and put on her seatbelt. 

Colress opened the side of the van and both he and Ghetsis, helped Anthea climb on in. Colress turned to Ghetsis and said, “Good morning, Sir. Is it just going to be Anthea?”

“Yes and good morning,” replied Ghetsis, as he cleared his throat. “Anthea’s rotation starts before daybreak. As for Concordia, her classes start at 9:00 am but Sage Rood will be dropping her off at the college in Opelucid City. Whoever is first available, will pick them up and take them home when they're ready to return.”

Once Anthea was seated, Ghetsis handed her the rolling luggage and then climbed in with her, since he wanted to accompany her on her first day back.

Colress got in the van and drove to Aspertia City. He had volunteered to take Anthea, because it had been a while since he last drove his van. Along the way, Colress asked Anthea questions about her classes, which she excitedly answered. Gothitelle reached over and lowered the van’s sun visor, to look at the mirror. She wanted to check if Ghetsis was still in the car because he had become so quiet that it seemed he faded from existence. Ghetsis was sitting in the back, next to Anthea, but his dark clothing and cone-like collar camouflaged him well in the darkness. Ghetsis made eye-contact with Gothitelle, his left pupil constricted becoming slit. Gothitelle smiled. She always found Ghetsis’ slit pupils to be very beautiful and was disappointed that none of his children inherited them.

Gothitelle made an attempt to communicate with Ghetsis telepathically.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

A faint quiet voice that sounded similar to N’s voice but slower-paced replied, “I’m surrounded by many people who will inevitably betray me.”

That wasn’t the answer she expected to hear from him, but it explained his recent nervous state. She asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Yes…,” he replied. “…Teach me ‘Future Sight’. So I can at least stay two steps ahead of my betrayers.” His mind then muttered to himself, “Wait…am I speaking with Gothitelle?…How?” Ghetsis began to tear up, overwhelmed by his emotions – he finally heard a pokémon speak to him and he wondered if it was his ambition that had deafened him to their voices.

Gothitelle severed the psychic link and panicked for having upset her trainer’s father. She did manage to feel his strong emotions – which were joyous at first but quickly became bitter sadness upon his realization. Then she remembered that she had a vision of this occurring and began to freak out because she had forgotten all about it.

Colress noticed Gothitelle squirming and pulled over to a nearby parking lot. Anthea reached over and held her hand.

“Relax, we’re not going to be late,” said Anthea. “I think we’re just really early.” She showed Gothitelle her watch.

Meanwhile, Ghetsis hoped that his daughter and Colress didn’t notice his distress, as he suffered in silence. He had been doing this for years, except that now he couldn’t hide it well anymore and that annoyed him.

It didn’t take much for Gothitelle to calm down. Once she did, Colress continued until he reached the Pokémon Center in Aspertia City. Ghetsis got out of the van and helped Anthea down. He handed her the Munna luggage bag that had her textbooks and school supplies in it. Ghetsis then hugged Anthea, which caught her by surprise, since he was rarely so physically affectionate in public, and he quickly jumped back in the van. Colress waved goodbye to her and Gothitelle, and they took off.

Anthea turned around to walk to the Pokémon Center and noticed that two of her classmates, who had arrived extra early, were staring at her through the glass doors. Nervous, Anthea entered the Pokémon Center and was greeted by her classmates and the instructor, who was the local Pokémon Center’s Head Nurse, and her assistant. The Head Nurse smiled and said to Anthea, “Good morning sweetheart, my name is Nurse Joy. Welcome to Aspertia City. Feel free to take a seat while we wait for the others. Help yourself to some Tea, or Moomoo Milk, or Berry Juice.”

Nurse Joy noticed Anthea’s student ID which she wore on her assigned lanyard – it read “Anthea Harmonia-Gropius” and had her photo.

Nervously, Nurse Joy whispered to her assistant, as she watched Anthea and Gothitelle take a seat next to each other, “Okay, was anybody going to tell me that one of these students is a literal royal princess or was I just supposed to read that off her student ID?”

“Wait what?” asked Nurse Joy’s assistant, as her boss pointed at Anthea, who was busy looking through her Munna rolling luggage.

Colress continued to drive back to the castle. Since Ghetsis was sitting in the back in silence, he almost forgot his boss was in the van with him until he shot a quick glance at the rearview mirror. His dark clothing blended in well with the dark gray interior and his face was nearly covered by the shadows. Ghetsis had his eyes closed.

“It’s too quiet,” said Colress nervously. “Do you want me to turn on the radio?”

“No,” replied Ghetsis. “I want to sit in silence and contemplate why my life has led up to this moment.”

“Oh…,” said Colress. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk? Sage Zinzolin was telling me about an experiment he was planning on doing that combats global warming. It would be nice to hear your input on the matter.”

Opening his eyes, Ghetsis sighed and said, “Listen, your attempts to ‘socialize’ with me are so…painful. You and I; we’re a pair of inhuman freaks and our kind can never get along with each other for obvious reasons.” Noticing Colress’ surprise, Ghetsis continued, “We can sense each other’s corruption and recoil in disgust, because it reminds us of the worst in ourselves. It’s just my guess, but you decided to push yourself beyond your limits to rid yourself of emotion.”

Colress suddenly hit the breaks, not so much because the traffic light quickly turned red but because Ghetsis’ words made him uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath Colress said, “Yes, this is true. I deeply regret doing this because the emotions never went away. They’re trapped inside but at least I can still push through and get my work done.”

“Have you ever wondered why the great Harmonia family of Unova is down to just my three children and I?” asked Ghetsis. “No need to answer this question. Just know that the answer prompted me to push myself beyond _ my _ limits – taking my eye and my arm along with it. Something I felt was a small price to pay for peace of mind, which I never got.”

Colress continued to drive. This was difficult because the conversation was making him tremble and he felt he was going to veer into another lane. But Colress persisted because despite how awful this talk was, the sore topic needed to be addressed, at least for some sense of closure. It seemed like Ghetsis felt the same way.

“Okay, the pain of losing most of your family is understandable,” said Colress. “I wanted to stop feeling that loneliness too. What I don’t understand is your ambition. Not only did you want to take over and rule Unova like that ancestor of yours did some 200 years ago, but you also want to keep going and rule the entire world too. Why? Isn't our beautiful region enough?”

“Because I’m a dragon,” chuckled Ghetsis. “I’m compelled to collect and hoard. Couple that with the addiction to power, and you have your answer. Now that my mind has cleared, I’ve come to realize my fatal mistake. I feel as if Fate allowed me to win, only because the circumstances lined up perfectly for me to seek atonement in private and save face. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise, what?” asked Colress.

“…”

“…Ghetsis?”

“…”

“…Damn it!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The brands are back! This time with everyone’s favorite All-Unovan bug car -- The Volcswagen (named after Volcarona. No, Alder doesn’t have one because he doesn’t drive.)
>   * I like Anthea’s Munna rolling luggage bag. There isn’t anything necessarily special about other than the fact I think it’s a cute visualization. (I’m pretty sure this is Team Plasma merch that’s sold on their website in this AU.)
>   * This fic will be a difficult read if you refuse to acknowledge that in canon, Ghetsis and N were pretty much the same character, just remixed. Here, it’s obvious that they’re both not so different from each other.
>   * Colress and Ghetsis aren’t the only inhuman freaks wandering around Unova. There’s probably a lot more people, but the act of learning pokémon moves yourself is taboo because it’s seen as animalistic and savage.


	3. First Day Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthea's first day back to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some opinions regarding pokémon nursing and affiliation with Team Plasma are mentioned in this chapter. It would appear that pokémon can come to a conclusion about this faster and more efficiently than humans can.

In all, there were six student nurses. Unlike other pokémon-related professions, it required college basics, which Anthea had taken. And then, there was having pokémon training experience, which was the most difficult prerequisite for Anthea, because she had to pass the exam that required her to battle someone according to the Unovan League’s rules. Like the rest of her family, she was against forcing pokémon to battle. Concerned and saddened, she met with the Seven Sages, and told them of her situation. Surprisingly, they encouraged her to battle.

Sage Giallo, specifically, said to her, “It appears that you only need to battle once and they’re simply testing how well you can perform an assessment. However, it is ironic you are forced to make the pokémon hurt each other, when you’re supposed to heal them.”

Fortunately, the Seven Sages were well-versed in how the League operated that they taught Anthea everything they knew. Concordia and N also joined in on the lessons because Concordia was nosy and N wanted to learn more about his “enemies”. Since Anthea only had Gothitelle, N planned to recruit some pokémon to help her, but the Seven Sages offered her the chance to make herself her own team from their pokémon. Overwhelmed, Anthea just grabbed random pokéballs without checking which ones she got. But in the end, it didn’t matter. As she was battling, Anthea decided to use Confusion directly on her opponent, which also affected the audience and the proctor. Since none of these people knew any pokémon moves, they had no idea what occurred other than the surprise that Anthea’s team made all of her opponent’s pokémon faint. (To this day, Anthea feels no remorse nor regret for having cheated, but then she didn’t think the League was worthy of her respect.)

The first day back for class was merely orientation. However, all the Pokémon Centers in Unova were pretty much the same. The only things that changed were the people and the patients. As Nurse Joy’s assistant was giving the students a tour of the facility, Anthea felt something move underneath her nurse’s cap. She was cool-enough not to scream and startle everyone. It took her a few seconds later to realize that there was a Joltik under her cap and that her father put it there that morning.

There was some truth to why her father was nicknamed “The Mad King”, despite not being an actual king; his interactions with pokémon were often seen as too strange. In this case, he had a habit of placing a couple of Joltik near his shoulders or on his head to control his frizzy hair, instead of using hairspray or gel. While he was doing her rings, he had placed a small sleeping Joltik on top of her head. To make this all the more unusual, the Joltik he used, as well as the others in the castle, were all technically “wild pokémon” but docile and friendly. 

Despite not being able to speak with pokémon, Ghetsis had befriended the Joltiks that lived in the castle during his childhood. As the only kid there, he had no one else his age to play with. Many in the household felt that his benign interactions with the Joltik were an ominous sign; foretelling of doom in the distant future. However, being the Harmonias’ only child at the time, they couldn’t just abandon him in the woods or else they’d end their bloodline. Instead, they were forced to keep their strange son, but he seemed to grow out of this as he got older. At least that's what they thought.

Anthea had grown up not knowing about how other people had such a negative opinion about her father’s treatment of pokémon. In fact, she had always admired his empathy towards pokémon and people. It was what inspired her to study nursing. But she wanted to do more than just feed, shelter, and befriend pokémon. 

Paranoid about the wild Joltik, especially since there were so many trainers on the hunt for pokémon, Anthea made up her mind to visit the Poké Mart inside the facility during her break. She recalled her Gothitelle and went to the shop. She grabbed one regular pokéball and a Full Restore, heading to the cashier for check out.

The cashier looked at her items, looked at her student ID, and sighed. Anthea was nothing more than a typical rich girl trainer, who had too much money and bought a pricey items for show. The cashier accepted her payment and Anthea purchased her items. Anthea then ran to the nearest restroom where she sat in the stall. Taking a gamble, Anthea took off her cap and held the pokéball right in front of the Joltik. The Joltik wiggled her mandibles and headbutted the pokéball’s button, allowing herself to be caught. As soon as that was done, Anthea let her out and placed the Joltik back on her head, covering her with the cap. Pocketing her pokéball and washing her hands, Anthea headed to the conference room where her classmates were meeting in.

Other girls were letting their own pokémon out of their pokéballs. Anthea let out Gothitelle and lifted cap for Joltik to take some breaths. Curious, Joltik jumped off her head and landed on top of her paperwork, circling on top of the form, as she looked around at the room.

Gothitelle sighed and said to Joltik. “You better behave.”

“What?” squeaked Joltik innocently. 

Crossing her arms, Gothitelle said, “I see you eyeballing the wall sockets and the fluorescent bulbs. You’re only allowed to drain Anthea’s static off her hair.”

“Says who?” asked Joltik.

“Says N and his father,” said Gothitelle. “I will call them on the phone, if I need to.”

“Do it!” said Joltik, as she wiggled her butt.

Gothitelle took Anthea’s phone and called N, putting him on speakerphone.

“Hello? Anthea?” answered N.

Gothitelle said, “Joltik doesn’t want to listen to me about sockets.”

“Put ‘em on the line,” said N, as Gothitelle held the phone close to Joltik. “Ugh, father must have sent you to school with my sister didn’t he? Please, don’t take any electricity unless they offer it to you. The facility is a public building and they need that power for the medical stuff, and the food. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Joltik, who seemed a bit disappointed with the rules, having no choice but to follow them.

“Please hand the phone over to Anthea,” said N to Gothitelle.

Gothitelle handed the phone to her trainer, who took it off of speakerphone and said, “Yes?”

“I’m gonna send Colress to go pick you up,” said N. “I wasn’t sure whether or not to tell you this, but father isn’t feeling well.”

“What?” gasped Anthea quietly.

“Colress called Sage Zinzolin, telling him that father passed out in the van,” said N. “We called in an actual medical doctor to assess him. Seems like father got over-emotional about something. His body just shut down like that on its own as a self-defense mechanism. He’s conscious right now and hopefully, he gets better when you return. Oh, and don’t tell him that I told you this. He doesn’t want you to be aware of his suffering.”

Anthea sighed and said, “Why are Unovan men like this?”

N, a Unovan man, asked, “What?”

“I gotta go, see you later,” said Anthea as she hung up. Anthea shot a quick glance at the room. The other girls were busy playing with their pokémon to have noticed Anthea calling her brother.

One of the girls, petting her trusty starter, Emboar, said loudly, “I can’t wait to go over to Aspertia Gym after this, to get my Basic Badge. I mean, I already got one from Nacrene City, but I want to collect this one too. We’re gonna kick some butt together, right, Miss Peggy?”

The girl’s Emboar roared excitedly, only to pause and fix her little Poké Nurse cap because she didn’t want to be out of dress-code.

Anthea held her tongue, couldn’t help but be bothered by the other girl’s boasting. She couldn’t quite understand what was going on in that other girl’s mind; she was studying to care for injured pokémon, yet wanted to take her beloved starter to the gym, so she could completely destroy all the Normal-types there. Unsure by Anthea’s sudden mood change, Joltik started wiggling again, to get her trainer’s attention. Anthea noticed and petted her. To take her mind off what she heard, Anthea took her receipt from the Poké Mart and folded it into a little paper nurse cap. She got her pen and drew the medical emblem on it, before placing it on Joltik’s head. Joltik wanted to take it off but realized that all the other pokémon in the room had their caps on too.

Just then, Nurse Joy arrived and said, “We’re going to have lunch soon, but before we do, we’re gonna have a pop quiz!”

The girls were surprised when Nurse Joy started passing out the quizzes. “Since I know your pokémon want to stretch out their legs, girls come over to this side and the pokémon go over to the other side. They can chat as long as they keep their voices down. This will be just for the quiz.”

The students and pokémon separated as Nurse Joy had said.

Gothitelle took Joltik and sat next to the Emboar named Miss Peggy. Miss Peggy looked at Gothitelle and whispered, “Is it true that your trainer is part of Team Plasma?”

“Yes,” said Gothitelle softly.

“That doesn’t make sense to me,” said Miss Peggy. “Team Plasma wants to separate us pokémon from humans. Why would anyone who seriously believes what want to work as a nurse – a profession where humans physically interact with pokémon to heal them?”

“What Team Plasma stands for isn’t about separation, but liberation,” replied Gothitelle. “I say this because my previous trainer had me in storage indefinitely, until some of the grunts broke me out. Too many trainers get obsessed with collecting and hoarding, which ultimately leads to this perpetual imprisonment. A lot of humans see us as things and not individuals. Otherwise, they’d release us if we’re of no use to them for their teams. Why have us ‘trapped? We are sentient beings like they are.”

“Huh…interesting,” said Miss Peggy. “You make a good point. I’ve seen my trainer look through her PC at other teammates that I may have seen like twice. Still, that doesn’t justify having to kidnap pokémon from their trainers. I know my girl would be heartbroken if I got kidnapped. We’ve been together for almost 10 years. I’d be so mad and figuring out how to go back to her.”

“That’s about how long I’ve been with my Anthea, 14 years,” said Gothitelle. “Sure I don’t really go to gyms but we train together, psychic moves, specifically. Tell me, what type does your girl specialize in? Fire or Fighting or something else?”

“Humans don’t battle,” said Miss Peggy.

“Not all of them, but mine does and the rest of her family,” said Gothitelle. “It’s a shame you and your trainer don’t do this, but it’s beautiful to bond this way. It feels as if the trainer has made an attempt to come into our world and interact with us in _ our _ way.”

“This is true!” said Joltik, who was hushed by Gothitelle for letting out an excited squeak. Softening her voice, Joltik said, “I’ve seen them battle, but they don’t want to battle us Joltiks.”

“You’re too small,” said Gothitelle.

Joltik frowned.

“This is really interesting,” said Miss Peggy, “but I don’t think I’d be able to tell my trainer about this type of battling. Humans can only understand simple concepts and this concept you have described is quite complex.”

A Beartic overheard the conversation and roared, “We can battle our trainers?! How come nobody told me?!”

Miss Peggy and Gothitelle told the Beartic to shush. Gothitelle said to her telepathically, “I have no idea. But I think it’s just generally discouraged because humans can become corrupted if they knew too much. This is sad when it happens because then they won’t be the same people we have grown to love, anymore.”

Beartic was conflicted and then moved to fix her nurse cap which had become askew. Gothitelle reached over and adjusted Joltik’s nurse cap.

Just then, Nurse Joy’s Audino approached them. Smiling she said, “Hi. I believe the lunch break will start soon. Although I overheard my trainer and her assistant discuss the possibility of dismissing you all after everyone finishing their quizzes. That way, you and your trainers can grab lunch wherever.”

“Thank you!” said Joltik.

“No, don’t thank me, thank my trainer Nurse Joy,” replied Audino. “Somebody’s finished…”

The last girl got up and handed her quiz to Nurse Joy, who began to grade it, which took about a few minutes. Satisfied that the girl passed, Nurse Joy got up from her desk and said, “Since all of you girls did an excellent job. You all can leave early right now. But remember, use this time wisely because tomorrow I might quiz you all over chapters 28 and 29.”

Audino turned to the pokémon, “Believe me, she will. Remind your trainers to study up for tomorrow.”

“Yes ma’am,” replied the pokémon. The trainers got their pokéballs and called back their pokémon. Before putting away their pokéballs into their luggage bags. Anthea did the same and immediately called N, to let him know she was ready to go back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * N’s ability to speak with pokémon is truly a gift because he can have deep, thoughtful conversations with them and reciprocate adequately. 
>   * There was a reason the Harmonias only had one child during the 1950s to 1970s. Why would they be given more if they couldn’t even do a good job of caring for the only one they were given?
>   * Anthea’s Joltik is a young girl who has no business being in a college-setting. She’s only allowed to be there because she isn’t disruptive.
>   * Miss Peggy’s trainer is probably a huge fan of _The Moppéts_. The main characters from that classic Unovan puppet series are a Seismitoad named Hermit and his girlfriend, an Emboar named Miss Peggy.
>   * Gothitelle and Concordia’s Gardevoir were “rescued” at around the same time and given to the girls, who were very excited to have a pokémon of their very own who was eager to train with them.


	4. Early Lunch Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthea leaves class early and ends up having lunch at the park with Colress.

Just as N said, Colress came to pick up Anthea. Not wanting to over-stimulate herself, Gothitelle sat in the back and Anthea sat in the front. Joltik decided to sit on Anthea’s lap and Colress couldn’t help but notice her.

“Did you catch a new pokémon today?” asked Colress, confused by the Joltik, as he was getting ready to drive back home.

“I had no choice,” replied Anthea. “Father placed her underneath my cap, to keep my hair from getting frizzy but she was wild. I freaked out when I saw her because Pokémon Centers are always filled with trainers ready to catch wild pokémon for EXP or to add to their collections. Imagine me taking her here and she gets lost because some trainer decided to catch her. She would’ve never been able to come back home.”

“That does sound like it could’ve ended badly,” said Colress. “Kind of careless, on your father’s part.”

“Yeah, but he’s not been feeling well so I don’t blame him,” shrugged Anthea. “Concordia is usually the one who does my hair, and she uses some gel and six bobby pins. But I think my father did a better job. He used ribbons and made me them into bows to match Gothitelle. He only used two bobby pins to keep my cap on.”

When they got to a stop light, Colress pulled out a pokéball and summoned his Magneton. He looked at Joltik and told her, “You can go power up.”

Joltik leaped and landed on Magneton as Anthea and Gothitelle observed. 

“It’s early,” said Colress. “Did you have lunch?”

“No,” replied Anthea.

“Do you want to stop somewhere, and grab something to eat,” said Colress, “The castle is quite far from here.”

“Not really,” replied Anthea. “Restaurant food sometimes makes me sick, so I packed my own lunch. If you want, you can stop wherever you want and I’ll join you.”

“Oh, I want to go to McMime’s,” said Colress. “I want to try that new Steakhouse Barbecue Sandwich.”

Anthea laughed, “Father hates McMime’s. But I think it’s because he’s so anti-corporate and anti-consumerist. Why do you think we live the way we do? Father lives what he preaches. I haven't had fast food in years because of this, but your offer sounds tempting.”

Colress smiled. It was not the answer he was expecting but at the same time, it was the only one that made the most sense. 

Embarrassed because she caused needless tension in the van, Anthea reached over and grabbed her bag. She asked Colress, “Is it alright if I listen to my textbook’s audio disk?” 

“Go ahead,” replied Colress.

She pulled out her textbook from her bag, flipping the book over, opening it, to reveal the disk in its sleeve, which had been opened. There were other disks inside because the textbook was big. Anthea placed the CD in the van’s CD player and went to chapter 28. This chapter talked about the digestive system of bipedal pokémon with tails.

Colress shrugged and listened along, because he decided to the opportunity as a refresher course. He had studied much about pokémon, but not in this exact medical detail. Besides, both Kyurem and Zekrom were bipedal pokémon with tails, pokémon that were relevant to his research.

He wanted a chance to study Kyurem, Sage Zinzolin had teased him about it when they first met. He later showed off the pokémon, whom he had claimed baited with a big chunk of fresh, clean meat. Despite not being able to speak with pokémon, Colress could see that this poor legendary dragon was already done with Zinzolin.

They reached the McMime’s in Nimbasa City, and Colress ordered the Steakhouse Barbecue Sandwich he wanted. Wanting to avoid fried foods, Anthea ordered a berry smoothie. They decided to have a picnic at the local park where the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel was located at. Their pokémon were let out and they enjoyed their lunch along with their trainers.

“N loves this park,” said Anthea. “He’s always been fascinated with the Ferris Wheel and wants to ride it, but was told he had to have a date, since it’s only for couples.”

“I’m sure since he’s king and has an obligation to continue the royal bloodline, it’s inevitable for him to ride it someday,” replied Colress.

“I don’t know,” said Anthea. “Father is against arranged marriages too, even though his marriage with mother was like this. I’ve overheard him say that he felt his family pressured him into marrying due to his love of pokémon. They feared his interest would alienate girls and therefore make him undesirable. But that doesn’t make sense to me, because almost every commoner girl I’ve met in school wants a boy who can take care of pokémon. They believe that if he can do this well, he’d be able to take care of her, and be an excellent father. There’s a reason they fangirl over skilled male trainers. Now, if N just had father’s charisma, he could’ve already have ridden that Ferris Wheel.”

“Do you want to ride that Ferris Wheel?” asked Colress.

“No…,” replied Anthea. “I heard that couples who go for a ride get along quite well in there. I’m good. I don’t want to think about how it’s contributed to Unova’s population growth.” She took a sip from her berry smoothie, which she had diluted with water because it was too sweet.

"I have no interest in it either," said Colress. "If I wanted to get a nice aerial view of Unova, I'd take a ride on the Plasma Frigate."

"Yes, I agree," replied Anthea. "Did you know Concordia can pilot it? But don't tell father. He thinks it's too dangerous."

"It is dangerous for someone visually impaired, so his concern is understandable," replied Colress. "I promise I won't tell him this."

“Concordia is like a Jill of all Trades,” said Anthea. “She’s good at just about everything and doesn’t hesitate to try anything new. She definitely got that from father.”

“I think all of you inherited different traits from him,” said Colress. “You are also quite determined and lawful. Not to mention, your eyebrows rival his. And N…it’s as if they’re the same person, except N is still an innocent carefree boy and your father is a very world-weary and tired older man.” Colress stopped himself right before saying that both of them were a pair of hard-headed bratty princes, who won’t hesitate to throw tantrums or runaway when they didn’t get what they wanted.

“Oh yeah, they’re alike,” said Anthea, “that’s like common knowledge. You’d have to be trippin’ on Amoonguss spores to doubt that they are father and son.”

Colress wrinkled his nose, the smell of the spores were as familiar as they were unpleasant. Back when he did field research, around 1996 or 1997, Colress had gotten sprayed in the face by a Foongus, while he crawled around in the tall grass looking for paw-prints. Fortunately, Colress wore glasses back then too and they shielded his eyes from the spores. He remembered how, for a few seconds, he struggled to breathe, only to pass out. 

When he awoke, a couple of minutes later, he was lying face up and above the tall grass he saw a pokémon circling him. It was a small pokémon with tiny arms, long hind legs and a very long tail. Although he couldn’t quite make out the pokémon’s color because it eclipsed the light, the pokémon had bright blue eyes, which sparkled like aquamarines. For some reason, Colress immediately identified it as Mew and reached for his bag to catch it. But he was not fast enough, and the Mew quickly floated away as soon as it saw him reaching for the bag. Now, some 15 years later, Colress wondered if the Mew he had seen circling overhead was actually just a hallucination caused by the Foongus spores. 

“Pardon my language, but that shit stinks,” replied Colress. “I say this as someone who was sprayed in the face by a Foongus. I don’t even want to imagine the potency of Amoonguss spores. I heard they were more pungent.”

“I wouldn’t know,” shrugged Anthea. “None of the Foongus in the castle have ever sprayed anyone, to my knowledge.”

“Did your father tame those too, by any chance?” asked Colress.

“Yes,” replied Anthea. “They live in the garden, protecting it from pests. He and Concordia feed them, and check them daily for cuts. There’s a couple of Amoongi in the garden too. Father admitted to training those when he was younger. Remind me to show them to you when we get back.”

“That’s alright, thank you,” replied Colress, who couldn’t help but be a bit unnerved about encountering those mushrooms again.

They finished their lunch and got back in the van. About 10 minutes later, they were back at the castle, since the traffic was surprisingly light. Anthea thanked Colress and went into the castle to change out of her uniform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * I didn’t come up with “McMimes” I had seen it in some Twitter parody comic/edit.
>   * I’m pretty sure as King of Unova, the park people still won’t let N ride on the ferris wheel unless he has a believable date.
>   * Ghetsis is an immature spoiled bratty prince in canon. Fact. I know that Nintendo and Game Freak will never admit to this because Ghetsis is the type of person who'd throw a tantrum if his parents don't buy him the latest Nintendo release and they'd hate to alienate loyal customers by depicting bad guys that act like them.
>   * Colress didn’t see Mew in the mid-1990s. The poor boy was hallucinating.


	5. Cyclical Obligations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N must review some important document and is given some perspective by his most trusted pokémon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not cease to bring up N's canonical irresponsible nature.

N looked out the window, since he had noticed Colress’ van approach. He was concerned since there was a delay but eventually figured that his sister and Colress had probably stopped to buy lunch before returning to the castle. He was approached by Sage Gorm, who came to deliver some documents.

Without turning around, N said to the sage, “Today was a beautiful day. Perfect for visiting the parks, but instead, I’m stuck here doing paperwork.”

“Eh…that’s just how life is,” shrugged Gorm, as he placed the documents on N’s desk. “Once you grow up and study, you get a job and you work until you retire or die. That’s not even counting the responsibility that comes with family, but then, you could always use that as an excuse to go to the park; for the kids’ sake, of course.”

“I don’t want to grow up,” replied N.

“It’s going to happen whether or not you want to or not, my king,” replied Gorm. “We’re all getting older.” Gorm looked around to see if anyone else was there with them. Just to make sure, he got closer to N and whispered, “And your father is taking this extra hard. But in his case, I’m sure that has more to do with his personal battling abilities. He’s not as strong as he was in his youth, and his weakness is making it more difficult to control his energy. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him hobbling with a cane next year. A man in such a condition cannot take care of himself, much less anyone else for that matter.”

“Enough!” cried N.

Annoyed, Sage Gorm left the room and closed the door. As soon as he was gone, N started to cry. He felt remorse for not being able to properly express himself. He was both upset about the increasing responsibility and his father's declining health. As the man of the house, N was now burdened with taking care of his family and the kingdom. N felt that he could only do one of these at a time, and he had no plans on abandoning his family.

N pulled out two pokéballs that contained his most trusted advisers in them, and summoned both pokémon – Darmanitan and Reshiram. Both pokémon looked at N with concern. 

Covering his face with his hands, N said, "I can't do this."

"But you've only just begun," replied Reshiram. "It's too early for you to give up."

"I didn't sign up to be king!" cried N.

"…Could've sworn you did when you accepted to be crowned at your coronation," interrupted Darmanitan. 

"Father made it seem like it was a Plasman rite of passage for Harmonia boys when they turned 15," replied N hesitantly. 

"It's both," replied Reshiram. "The boys get crowned on their 15th birthday and become 'Lords'. However, since you can speak to us that meant you were more than just a Lord, you are the Rightful King of Unova, who is meant to unify both pokémon and humans with the Truth."

N frowned. "But why me?"

"Because your father can't understand pokémon," replied Darmanitan.

“He’s corrupted and you’re not,” replied Reshiram. “My guess is that his corruption began long before he learned too many moves. Foreign nobility always had rather rigid customs. After all, the main Harmonia line; famous for its distinct tall, pale, green-haired males, is Kalosian in origin. These types of nobles expect anyone carrying their blood to be ‘prim and proper’. While that _ does _ work out for Kalosians and others, it doesn’t work out for Unovans. These customs can be maddening because they feel unnatural…” 

“That’s exactly how it feels to me…unnatural,” said N. "Dare I say, 'alien'? I hate it."

“...Your father was a peaceful and timid boy, just like you,” continued Reshiram. “However, unlike you, he lacked the valor to protest what was being done to him. The poor boy was at the mercy of his family, who controlled nearly every aspect of his life. To maintain his sanity and privacy, he became secretive. It's the main reason he seeks power; to have control over something, since he wasn’t allowed to control anything in his own life when he was growing up.”

“Wow, you psycho-analyzed the hell out of that man,” said Darmanitan. He turned to N and said, "Thinking about it, your dad projects a lot of himself onto you too. The most obvious one is you being the ruling king of Unova. You can see it in his eyes; that he wished it had been him instead, so he lives out his dream through you. Your dad getting upset over your Mean Look is another. To avoid stressful confrontations, he tries to appear as inoffensive as possible. Mean Look is assertive and therefore hostile. He likely fears that others will attack you and finds this scenario too stressful to think about."

Seeing that N was upset over what he heard, Reshiram said, “I don’t have much of a choice. As the Hero of Truth, N must be aware of the truth behind his upbringing, even if it is unpleasant to hear about a loved one’s suffering. I often wonder how many other Heroes of Truth…or even Ideals, could’ve come from this family, but the stress of their formal yet unnatural lifestyle, corrupted them that they became deaf towards pokémon.”

N bolted out of the room.

Reshiram and Darmanitan poked their heads out of the door and managed to catch N round the corner of the hallway. Darmanitan looked at Reshiram and said, “He’ll be back.”

“Yes…” said Reshiram.

Feeling better, Ghetsis put on his black outfit and was in the garage, lying down on an old couch (which were actually the removed seats from an old van.) Ghetsis had put on the seatbelt as his Seismitoad grabbed the couch and using the bumps on its paws, it made the couch vibrate.

N entered the garage, after being directed there by Ghetsis’ Bisharp, and saw that Seismitoad was vibrating the couch. Seismitoad stopped when he saw N and went to grab a Nanab Berry from a bowl to snack on. Ghetsis squinted and saw N, he unbuckled his seatbelt and tried to sit up, only to struggle. N helped his father up and gave him a hug.

Ghetsis’s eye widened in surprise and he asked, “What’s wrong, my king?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to see what you’ve been up to,” said N as he sat next to him. 

Maintaining his calmness, Ghetsis said, “You know those massage chairs from Shopping Mall Nine? I wanted to go sit on one of those because of this sudden back pain. Then I remembered that I have Seismitoad and this seat here, so I made do.” Ghetsis looked over to see how his monocled eyepatch was doing since he had taken it off, and placed it on the coffee table. (It was fine.)

“May I try the chair?” asked N.

“Yes, but wear the seatbelt because if you don’t, you’ll fall on the concrete floor,” said Ghetsis, as he put on another seatbelt.

N did the same and as soon as he was buckled up, Seismitoad began to shake the couch again. N’s spine popped and Seismitoad stopped. N turned around and said to Seismitoad, “That felt so good, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Seismitoad as he got another berry from the bowl.

Ghetsis got up and stretched. He turned to N and said, “You can keep going if you like, but I’ve been on it for quite a while.”

“How’d you discover this?” asked N.

Ghetsis smiled and reached over to get his monocled eyepatch. “You have a pokémon that is capable of destruction by using vibration, and then you have a need to sit on a couch or chair that vibrates. You put two and two together. It’s common sense. I’ve only ever seen these massage chairs at the mall, and I don’t feel well-enough to leave the castle. While I _ could’ve _ asked someone to give me a massage, I didn’t want to be a bother.” Ghetsis pulled out his bag, which he carried beneath his cape and took out a fancy citrus Poké Puff, handing it to Seismitoad as payment for helping him. 

The citrus Poké Puffs were the only ones Ghetsis knew how to make, but that was because those were his favorite to eat. N was fond of all the flavors, but his favorite were the mint ones. He kept saying to himself that he was going to look up the recipe to make them, but he always got distracted and ended up watching the Team Skull dance videos on STARYUtube, on repeat.

“I hope it’s not too much of a bother, but Sage Gorm placed some documents on my desk and I was wondering if you could review them with me,” said N.

“Very well,” replied Ghetsis, who followed N out of the garage. As soon as Ghetsis entered the castle, he pulled out a whistle and whistled. Just then, his Bouffalant came running down the hallway. Ghetsis climbed on, since he felt too weak to walk to the office. He turned to N and said, “Would you like a ride?”

N turned to the Bouffalant, to see what he wanted. The Bouffalant said, “Whatever you want. I mean, I know your dad’s not feeling well, plus I don’t mind carrying extra.”

“I’ll ride too,” replied N, who climbed up on the Bouffalant’s back. “Please take us to the main administrative office.”

“As you wish,” replied the Bouffalant as he hurried to the office.

While it was utterly unacceptable to ride a pokémon indoors, the two royals didn’t give a damn because they played by their own rules. The trio arrived safely at their destination, and Reshiram and Darmanitan were still in the office waiting for them.

Bouffalant saw the two pokémon and said to them, “Hey, what’s up?”

“A bit of a rough day,” replied Darmanitan, who then whispered, “Poor N. He’s worried about the lawsuit and what happened earlier with his dad.”

“What lawsuit?” asked Bouffalant.

“The one against those gym leaders who tried to stand up against Team Plasma,” replied Darmanitan. “During the battle, a couple of them ordered their pokémon to directly attack grunts. It’s common sense that there’s boundaries between humans and pokémon. This includes directly attacking and possibly injuring humans, which was what happened to these kids. Those ‘gym leaders’ forced their pokémon to assault them and they got hurt. So now, we’re suing them to cover medical expenses, but to also tarnish their reputation.”

“It’s strange that this news doesn't shock me,” said Bouffalant. “But it’s probably because their actions are not surprising. They're corrupt humans addicted to violence. Milk them dry.”

Bouffalant laid down on the floor and Ghetsis walked over to him, with the papers N wanted him to see, and sat down next to him, leaning into his soft woolly side. For some reason, Ghetsis felt more comfortable sitting on the ground like this than on a chair. N sat down on the floor too and handed his father a small flashlight, so he could get a better view of the documents.

Reshiram signaled to Darmanitan to walk with him to the other side of the office. When they were far enough away, Reshiram said, “I don’t trust N’s dad. Not necessarily because he seems a bit shady, but I worry he might do something impulsive and dangerous. He’s been too tense lately and could explode at any given moment.”

“I’ve tried talking to his team about this,” said Darmanitan. “They’re trying their best to help him, as you can see with Bouffalant. The only one who was uncooperative and unwilling to listen was Hydreigon, because he’s in denial about this happening to ‘his human’, but he _ knows_. His lesser heads won’t stop weeping about it. I’ll see if I can talk to the other teams, but I’m unfamiliar with them.”

“Yes, you do that,” said Reshiram. “I’ll keep an eye out for N and his father.”

Darmanitan left the room and waved to N before he left. N waved back and resumed looking at the paperwork which Ghetsis was explaining to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * If they ever did make a BW/Unova remake, I bet your ass that the writers will never address N being close to or at 20 years old, and still being babied by his father. Americans, well White Americans, as the Harmonias seem to be don’t usually baby their kids. But then again, Ghetsis and his whole family do not act like the typical White Americans, with their multiculturalism and their “natural” yet conservative lifestyle.
>   * The Harmonia males, from this AU, are like the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys. No matter what, they will always be tall, pale, and have long green hair. They will always be Lords, or as the case with N, a King. This gene is Kalosian, only because many Team Flare admins are that pale and there’s a green-haired one.
>   * I don’t think you’ll ever find any other fic with such a seemingly laid back Ghetsis, on his homemade massage chair, who occassionally cooks and eats pokémon food. But also, doesn’t hesitate to ride his pokémon properly by sitting down and not standing up on top of them, <strike>unlike the Pokémon Adventures manga which kept showing him standing on his dragons because they're a bunch of cowards who didn't want show this man sitting down. Hell, this is the main reason this Ghetsis sits down on the ground or just acts too casual. I'm that much of a spiteful bitch. The only thing that manga did _right_ was make him look cutely cheerful in most panels. Because to me, he looked like he had gotten lobotomized off-panel.</strike>.


	6. Evening Gardening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colress and Concordia are checking up on the various Foongus that live freely in the garden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Concordia's Rowlet was from another world. Ghetsis took it because she flew up to him and landed on his shoulder, signifying that she wanted to be with him. This Rowlet's presence hasn't messed up the multi-universe...or has it?

That evening, Concordia took Colress on a tour of the garden. They were accompanied by her Gardevoir, Swadloon, and Rowlet. Anthea had told her sister that Colress appeared interested in seeing it. However, Colress was too embarrassed to admit that he may have developed a slight phobia of Foongus. Yet, his curiosity regarding wild pokémon being domesticated without being “caught” was much more powerful than his fear.

Concordia had equipped her black and white gardening outfit and Colress equipped his gray field researcher outfit, which he hadn’t worn in years. She said to Colress, “There’s not much to this garden, other than we eat its produce, and that it’s mostly guarded by a dozen Foongi that father befriended during childhood.”

“How did your father befriend these, if you don’t mind me asking?” asked Colress. “I’m just surprised because Foongi tend to be a hostile species.”

“He’s always told us that he went to play outside one day and saw a small group of Foongi in a circle,” replied Concordia. “He wanted to join them and offered them some berries if they let him join, they accepted. Since his family forbade him to play with the Joltiks who live inside, he had to look for other pokémon elsewhere. He still played with the Joltiks, but in secret.”

“Why did he want to play with pokémon so badly?” asked Colress. “I’m no parent, but even I can see that this is very odd behavior for a child.”

“He was the only kid in the castle,” shrugged Concordia. “He was home schooled too, thus not able to interact with other kids. He once confessed to me that he believes this was done to him because his family feared public embarrassment from him ‘acting like himself’. All this time, I assumed the reason he was home schooled was because the other kids were too mean. That’s what happened to me; the other kids made fun of me and one of them cut off my braid! Anthea was just scared because she didn’t want to be with strangers but nobody hurt her. N was the luckiest. Father didn’t waste his time enrolling him in school, but that’s because of what the others had done to me and he feared the worst for N.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” said Colress. “I went to public school and it was hell. I got jumped in middle school, all because I refused to help this douchebag with his homework. By ‘help’ I mean, he wanted me to do it for him without expecting any sort of compensation. Although, he’s the one to thank for helping me decide to become a Steel-type specialist because he was really into Rock-types. We battled during senior prom and needless to say, I beat him easily. Although, the victory and his subsequent humiliation was rather unsatisfactory.”

“Bringing in innocent pokémon to settle an old grudge doesn’t seem like it was a good idea in the first place,” said Concordia. 

“Yes, perhaps that was why it never satisfied me,” said Colress. “I wish I had known not to battle over a grudge back then. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wasted my precious time preoccupied with such a pointless ‘revenge’.”

Concordia suddenly stopped in her tracks. A tiny Foongus jumped in front of her and squealed. Concordia squatted down, pulling out a bottle of regular potion from her bag. She picked up the Foongus and inspected it, as Colress observed. She quickly spotted the Foongus’ injury, its left arm was cut. She placed the Foongus back on the ground and sprayed it once. The Foongus jerked back from the potion’s burn but felt immediate relief. Concordia reached in her bag and pulled out a Razzberry. Since it was too big for the Foongus, she fed it a small reasonably-sized piece and ate the rest herself. Happy, the Foongus squeaked in appreciation and hopped back into the vegetable patch. 

Colress pulled out his pokédex and it stated that the Foongus that Concordia had cured, as well as the others he had spotted out in the open, were indeed wild uncaught pokémon. 

Concordia crossed her arms and said, “Okay, now it’s the hard part. We have to check all these other ones to see if they got cut because only the baby ones aren’t ashamed to admit they hurt themselves in their carelessness. I know one might argue that we should let nature take its course, but they’re guests in our property. We have a responsibility to ensure their safety during their stay, even if their stay is on a permanent basis. Let’s split up.”

Colress had no chance to protest, because as quickly as Concordia had given the command, she and her pokémon had scattered across the garden. What surprised Colress the most was that even the Rowlet, who had barely been there for a couple of weeks, just as he had, had already learned the routine. Like Swadloon, Rowlet offered berries to the Foongus and called Gardevoir or Concordia, if she had spotted a serious injury that needed potion.

Unlike Swadloon, Rowlet was more diligent in her search for Foongus. Swadloon, on the other hand, preoccupied herself with converting the fallen leaves into compost, something that she bonded over with the Foongi since they did the same. As Swadloon was converting the leaves into compost, a Foongus approached her.

“Who is that Chikorita-looking man?” asked Foongus as he pointed at Colress.

“He’s supposed to be a doctor that was hired to cure Lord Ghetsis,” replied Swadloon. “He hasn’t left but I assume it’s because Lord Ghetsis keeps getting sick and everyone decided to keep the doctor around, just in case.”

“That makes sense,” replied Foongus, unaware that Swadloon was incorrect despite how logical her reasoning was. Foongus frowned, “I miss him, Ghetsis, I mean. It feels wrong not seeing him here in the evenings. Um…I gotta go.” The Foongus hopped away.

Swadloon sighed. Even the male Unovan pokémon were too macho to cry in front of others, much like the humans. As the Foongus, hopped away, he spotted a tall, pale, green-haired man in the distance. Excited, Foongus shouted, “Ghetsis! Ghetsis! Dude, you cannot believe what happened to me today!”

Unfortunately, the tall man Foongus had seen was N, who smiled awkwardly at the realization that Foongus was talking to him. It was not the first time this particular Foongus had mistaken him for his father. The Foongus was going blind from old age and had known his father since their childhood. Not wanting to upset this elderly pokémon, N tried his best to pretend he was his father, which meant he had to resist the temptation of speaking to Foongus.

Foongus, still tricked by N’s regal Harmonia aura, said to N, “Okay, so I was standing in the bean patch, catchin’ some shade when that damned Rufflet tried to swoop down and pick the beans. That punk-ass motherfucker, the balls on him tho…thinks he can come in here and take shit without asking. Blasted his ass with my Solar Beam and he fucked off. But I know this asshole, he will be back tomorrow to start shit again. I have no choice but to train some more, so I can have my Solar Beam charged up.” 

N felt his soul wanting to leave his body. He had met this Foongus, a sweet elder who was always so polite around N and the rest of the family. N would've never imagined this sweet little Foongus to be so foul-mouthed that this revelation shook him. Perhaps the Foongus was always like this and took advantage of the fact that Ghetsis couldn’t understand him. As much as the Foongus loved Ghetsis, he could tell that Ghetsis was the type who hated cursing. The Foongus was relieved that he could just be himself and his human friend would never be offended by him expressing himself in the way he felt most comfortable.

N reached over and petted Foongus on his cap. Foongus wiggled with excitement and suddenly he stopped. Fungus’ pink lips went pale and he muttered, “Oh shit…”

Foongus realized that he mistook N for Ghetsis, because their friendship levels were different. Although his friendship with N was high too, it could not compare to whatever he had with Ghetsis. Sure the pokédexes and appraisers said their friendship level was at 255, but for Foongus, it was much more than that. (Level 255 was too low a quantity to have with someone he had known and loved for nearly 50 years.) Foongus physically felt the difference and his small body was unable to contain the shock over his faux pas. All he could do was faint, which he did.

Worried, N looked through his bag and realized that he didn’t have any Revives on hand, because he had only planned to quietly check up on what Colress and Concordia were up to. Concerned, N took the Foongus and darted back to the castle with him.

Colress spotted N running off with a Foongus and signaled to Concordia. Concordia signaled back to Colress to let N do whatever. She recognized the Foongus, it was an elderly one who always followed her father around, it didn’t want to evolve for some reason, despite having the best IVs among the Foongi in the garden. Colress shrugged and continued his search. Due to how well-behaved the Foongi were, Colress’ fears were slowly diminishing.

Pulling out a potion, Colress sprayed a Foongus and fed it some berries. The Foongus squeaked in gratitude before returning deeper into the garden. As Colress pulled out his pokédex to take some notes, he felt someone approach him from behind. Concerned, Colress summoned his Alolan Muk, to watch his back.

Concordia spotted the Muk and scanned him with her pokédex. She read his stats and saw that his original trainer was someone named “Lusamine”. She heard some rustling in the garden and pointed her pokédex at it. But there was no pokémon detected. Concordia thought it was strange since it did sound like there was a pokémon hiding in the tall grass. Unconcerned, Concordia resumed her work.

Her Gardevoir shook her head, thinking that Concordia had gotten distracted, and couldn’t help but be disappointed that she didn’t seem to share the same compassion that Anthea and N had inherited from their father. These three were always very focused while they worked.

“Hey!” squeaked a Foongus at Gardevoir, interrupting her thoughts.

Gardevoir rushed over to check on the Foongus, but the Foongus appeared to be okay. The Foongus pulled out something from its cap and handed it to Gardevoir. It was a small black and white precious stone. Gardevoir looked at the stone and asked, “What’s this?”

“I don’t know,” said Foongus. “I had pick-pocketed it from an intruder. He appeared to be a reporter, who was trying to sneak in and take photos of the family. We knocked him out and told the Patrats to get the Zoroarks and they tossed him out.” The Foongus pulled out some coins. “I took these too.”

“I thought it was wrong to steal,” said Gardevoir.

“The Purrloins and the Liepards said it was okay if they’re intruders or trainers who collect badges,” replied Foongus. “They also told us not to show N ‘The Repository’, but they didn’t even tell me where it was.” The Foongus handed Gardevoir the coins. “These can be ‘donations’.”

“Thank you,” said Gardevoir, who didn’t feel right about donating stolen money.

The Foongus smiled and went back to creating more compost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The most delicious irony is that Ghetsis' family feared he'd embarrass them and their honor, or whatever, and Ghetsis grows up to make Team Plasma and gives speeches about "Pokémon Liberation." (These bitches are rolling in their graves.)
> 
> The Foongi kinda act like junkyard dogs. They protect the garden and instinctively keep up its maintenance. They are paid with food and frequent checkups. 
> 
> The Patrats, Zoroarks, Joltiks, and Liepards, etc. Are other sentinel pokémon. They are cared for in a similar manner. Because this is viewed and treated as a "symbiotic relationship", it's not considered exploitation.
> 
> Ghetsis was the one who organized this setup with his limited trainer knowledge as a teen. N was the one who refined and perfected it simply because he was able to get the pokémon's input. He changed some routines around, for it to be more efficient. After all, humans and pokémon were meant to live together like this. It's as nature intends.


	7. Relics of a Bygone Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foongus reunites with his friend and feels better. Ghetsis' Bisharp vents to N about his existential crisis.

N arrived at the castle and entered the kitchen. Sitting the Foongus on the counter and placing a trivet in front of the Foongus, so he wouldn’t roll off the counter, N looked through the cabinets in search of a Revive. Unbeknownst to N, his father was in the kitchen, sharpening his Bisharp’s blades with a knife sharpener. Without looking up, Ghetsis said, “There’s some small Max Revives in the crisper drawer.”

Locating the Max Revives, N fed one to Foongus, who was immediately healed. He seemed to improve further when he saw that Ghetsis was in the kitchen and started to call out to him. Ghetsis stopped and saw the Foongus. “N, bring him to me.”

Struggling to pick up the Foongus who didn’t want to be held, N had no choice but to put him on the ground and the Foongus quickly rolled next to Ghetsis. Ghetsis reached over and petted Foongus with his unmistakable right hand. Foongus squealed happily, since this was the type of friendship level increase that he expected from his beloved friend. Unlike everyone else, this Foongus was not creeped out by Ghetsis’ deformed hand. In fact, it comforted him because only Ghetsis’ hand was like this.

Bisharp observed quietly. He couldn’t help but feel disgusted by the public display of affection. The kitchen was no place to show-off such deep intimacy. Since Bisharp was so poker-faced, neither Ghetsis nor N had realized that he was uncomfortable. It confused Bisharp as to why his trainer would like such a lazy pokémon, especially one who didn’t even want to battle alongside the team as an extra, despite having perfect IVs. Ghetsis stopped petting Foongus and resumed finishing sharpening Bisharp’s blades.

“So what were they doing?” asked Ghetsis.

“They were curing the Foongi, just like they said they would,” replied N. “I found your friend knocked out near the bean patch. There was a Rufflet feather next to him, so I can only assume that he battled bravely before fainting.”

Ghetsis tittered and turned to Foongus. “Just…_evolve_. You’ll be the most powerful Amoonguss in the garden. If you’re that worried about your moveset shuffling, tell N which moves you want and I’ll get you those TMs, so you can have your moves.”

Laughing nervously, Foongus said, “But I like being small. I get mistaken for a pokéball and then when they get too close, I can blast off butts with my Solar Beam.”

Annoyed, Bisharp said, “But as an Amoonguss, your Solar Beam would be even stronger. And then you can blast off more butts that way. It’s common sense.”

“Fuck that,” scoffed Foongus.

Bisharp’s eyes widened. Like his trainer, Bisharp was also a gentleman who was offended by cursing, despite his normally expressionless and aloof demeanor. Even Ghetsis looked surprised when he heard the squeak.

“Did Foongus say a bad word?” asked Ghetsis innocently.

N and Bisharp looked at each other nervously. They didn’t want to think about how Ghetsis would react to the truth. Especially, since Ghetsis always proudly boasted about how this Foongus was as much a perfect gentleman as his IVs were perfect. They feared that this revelation would be like a catastrophic betrayal and had no idea what to do.

Taking a gamble, Foongus evolved. Amoonguss now stood before them. It seemed that as he evolved, the mycelium moved around in his body and improved his vision, but barely. The first person Amoonguss saw after his eyes came back into focus was Ghetsis, and he nearly felt his heart skip a beat.

“…Fuck…,” said Amoongus under his breath. He had dreamed to see his old friend once more and was overcome with emotion. 

Ghetsis hurried with sharpening Bisharp and dismissed him, that way he could comfort Amoonguss. Bisharp hurried out of the kitchen, only to turn around and see his trainer hugging the Amoonguss. Confused by the strong emotions he felt – unsure if it was outrage or jealousy, Bisharp hurried away and hid in the shadows. Ghetsis frowned and said, “No…I wanted to give him a Supreme Autumn Poké Puff, he’s had a rough week. It’s in the fridge. Please N, go take it to him, you’re fast.”

“Yes father,” said N as he went to the fridge and grabbed the special treat, before running after Bisharp. (Who shouldn’t even be running in the castle, because the last time Bisharp ran, he cut himself with his own blades when he tripped.)

As soon as they were alone, Ghetsis picked up Amoonguss and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Their friendship level was so high that Ghetsis was unaffected by Amoonguss’ naturally poisonous body. Before he knew it, Ghetsis began to weep but was unsure why. Something about interacting with one of his oldest, most beloved childhood friends whom he trusted brought out strong emotions he had not felt in years. 

Just then, Bronius entered the kitchen to help himself to a snack and saw Ghetsis sitting on a chair holding an Amoonguss. He would've ignored it but was drawn to the scene by his leader’s soft weeping. It was then that he realized that the old Foongus finally evolved. Bronius took a photo of the scene and shared it in the private group chat he shared with the other sages. He forgot about the snack because he was more surprised by the incident.

N caught up with Bisharp, who was standing against the corner. N held out the Poké Puff and said, “Sir, my father told me to give you this.”

“What does your father see in that uncouth mushroom?” asked Bisharp, who still had his back to N.

“I didn’t like hearing him speak that way, but the mushroom was, still probably is, my father’s playmate,” replied N. “It’s like me and the Zorua, the Tympole, the Joltik…well, everybody. We hang out and play without doing any battling.” 

“So you’re saying, this bond they share is an infantile friendship that has persisted into older adulthood?” asked Bisharp.

“Yes,” said N, who dreamed of having such a long-lasting and deep relationship with his own friends.

Bisharp turned around and saw the Poké Puff N was holding. Bisharp took the Poké Puff and said to N, “I will return to the kitchen and thank your father.”

They both walked together to the kitchen. As they walked, Bisharp said, “I have been thinking about a lot of things lately. Mostly that some of my Pawniards have all evolved into Bisharps. They’re quite impressive warriors that don’t let anyone or anything stand in their way…including me.”

“What?” asked N, confused by Bisharp’s statement. From what N had observed, all the Pawniards had nothing but respect for this Bisharp, because he mentored them and cared for them.

“I see that you are unfamiliar with how our pack’s hierarchy works,” replied Bisharp. “Our pack is led by a powerful Bisharp, which in this case, is me. The time comes that once again, I will be challenged by these youngsters and be inevitably defeated, dethroned, and banished. My problem is that I don’t think I’d be able to survive a second banishment. I’m too old…”

“But my father is your trainer, he won’t let that happen,” replied N.

“It’s not about what your father wants, it never is,” said Bisharp. “The law of the pack states that if I linger, they’d make sure I won’t. After all, we Bisharps take no pity on the targets we hunt down, whether they’d be pray or pariahs.”

“The others have been hand-reared by humans, specifically by the Shadow Triad,” said N. “As far as I know, you’re the only ‘wild-caught’ one here and father had nursed you back to health, including repairing your broken head blade.”

“Listen, N, I appreciate you wanting to comfort me,” said Bisharp. “But my fate is inescapable. I think what has hurt me the most is that I’ve noticed that your father shares my same concern – he senses an impending power-grab. Like me, he has become significantly weaker and is alone. He’s destined for defeat. Perhaps I’m just disillusioned by it all. I thought you humans knew how to live in peace because you are all capable of feeling pity. But it seems that you humans are no different than my own cold-blooded kind.” Bisharp noticed N turn pale, but said nothing.

They finally reached the kitchen, where Ghetsis was disinfecting the counter, where N had set Foongus, who was now sitting on Ghetsis’ chair as Amoonguss. Ghetsis turned to look at Bisharp, smiling warmly at him.

Bisharp took a bite of the Poké Puff and after swallowing, whispered to N. “I will treasure these final moments together with your father, who has become my dear friend. How I lament not being able to speak to him about our fated ending, perhaps there was a slight chance at regaining strength through each other’s mutual support. I appreciate that you have taken the time to listen to one of my many sorrows. Thank you, N.”

N looked Bisharp and then at his father, wondering how he was going to sleep at night, because he didn’t realize their situation was grim and had no idea what to do. After all, a pokémon would never lie to anyone. They always spoke their truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bisharp and this Foongus would've both died had this Ghetsis lost like in the game. Bisharp kills himself and Foongus dies of heartbreak when he finds out Ghetsis isn't coming back home. (There's a reason Ghetsis' Bisharp isn't on his team anymore in BW2...) Obviously, neither of them will die any time soon.
> 
> Ghetsis' other playmate pokémon are Liepard, Stoutland, Galvantula, Seismitoad, and Hydreigon. Seismitoad and Hydreigon are currently on his team. Galvantula, who shows up much later in this fic. (Due to self-imposed time-constraints, Liepard and Stoutland don't appear in this fic.)
> 
> I've not decided if the other Bisharp turn on Ghetsis' Bisharp. I'm willing to say that they will not, since they're domesticated types who just want to be friends.


	8. Ride to Icirrus City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N and his Sages get ready for their date in court.

The next day started off as it should. Ghetsis and N woke up early and helped Anthea with her hair, including placing the Joltik under her cap, before escorting her to one of the other Team Plasma cars driven by a Shadow, so she could go back to Aspertia City. However, N noticed that his father was tenser than usual. Concerned, N asked, “Father, are you alright?”

“No, I have sudden back pain,” replied Ghetsis, as he and N walked back to the castle. “Ugh…today was also the day that we all appear in court for the lawsuit. N…I can’t wear my robes. The chest-plating’s weight will mess up my back. I don’t think I could make it and I know that my absence will surely rouse suspicion. Especially, since it’s been so ‘frequent’ lately.”

“You can still go, you just need to be wearing another robe in the same style as the other sages,” said N. “I believe Giallo and Bronius have prepared one for you.”

“N…,” said Ghetsis. “You do know that the reason I wear that chest-plating in public is to keep my powers in check, right? I have trouble controlling all this energy when I’m stressed. You have no idea how much that interview with those journalists from Hoenn had wrecked my nerves. I still wonder what would’ve happened if…”

“Wait, you get stressed during your speeches?” asked N.

“Of course,” replied Ghetsis. “I’m a private man. Being in front of the audience makes me feel so…exposed. However, it’s my responsibility to represent Team Plasma, so my performance must be absolutely perfect. Fortunately, I am perfect but that still doesn’t prevent me from becoming so drained afterwards. It’s why the Q&A following the speech is brief. I know opponents like to point out that I refuse to answer many questions, but I rather have them think that I’m ‘shady’ than to know I’m at my weakest.” 

“Father…” gasped N. “Knowing you’re stressed too makes me feel better about this. I assumed that I wasn’t good enough to make speeches.”

“My son…my king,” replied Ghetsis. “I’ve been doing this for 25 years. Still it pales in comparison to my coronation. I was still a young boy. I was only 13.”

N’s eyes widened as soon as he finished doing the math. Yes, his father was actually 13 years old when he was crowned and given the title of “Lord”, which was unusual since Harmonia boys were meant to be crowned at 15 on their birthday. As for Ghetsis, his coronation wasn’t even on his birthday either, since it had occurred a couple of months prior. Ghetsis was specifically crowned on July 4th, 1976 to commemorate Unova’s bicentennial and his coronation was televised.

Like N, Ghetsis rarely left the castle during his childhood. He also didn’t socialize with others who weren’t family or pokémon. Ghetsis found it quite shocking to be standing on a large stage before thousands of strangers. That wasn’t even counting the innumerable audience that would tune-in or watch the recordings of the ceremony. On top of it all, Ghetsis’ family expected him to be absolutely perfect because any mistake would bring great shame to the Harmonia family. Had Ghetsis had been a weaker boy, his body wouldn’t have been able to handle the stress. Fortunately, his coronation was nothing short of perfection and everyone was happy. 

Remembering this event years later, Ghetsis gave N the choice between a public coronation and a private one. N chose the latter. As expected, N had been preparing for his coronation for the past three years. However, he dreaded the thought of it being televised. N had watched recordings of his father’s coronation several times to study them. He was both pleasantly surprised and relieved that his father gave him a choice.

There was a large crowd gathered at the throne room, but they were all the Team Plasma members. These were people that N had seen and didn’t feel nervous around them. Like his father had done thirty years prior, N wore a starched white robe and was escorted to the throne by two escorts – his sisters. At the throne, stood the Seven Sages, waiting for him. Excited, Ghetsis calmly walked over to N holding the crown with his deformed right hand and crowned N right before he arrived at the throne. The four Harmonias then walked together to the throne, not realizing that Ghetsis was supposed to wait until N was right in front of the throne to place the crown on his son’s head.

The other sages noticed this glaring mistake, but they remained silent. After all, N being accompanied by his entire family to the throne was even better sight than what tradition had dictated. When they arrived at the throne, they smiled at the sages before turning around to face the audience. Ghetsis gave a speech but N had noticed that this speech was much different than the usual speeches but he couldn’t quite put his finger as to why. Nearly five years later, N realized that in this occasion Ghetsis didn’t front; every word in this speech was said with the utmost heartfelt sincerity. N couldn’t help but feel bad for not appreciating it. But then, he was still a young boy, who didn’t know any better.

Of course, several Team Plasma members had brought cameras to take photos and videos. However, they were told that the footage was of an intimate family moment and they weren’t allowed to post any of it publicly, unless N allowed it. Of course, amidst the preparations, the ceremony, and finally the reception, all the Seven Sages of Team Plasma forgot to tell N about this. It was until now, that N remembered people taking photos of him, yet never saw any of these photos posted online or anywhere.

Ghetsis and N finally arrived in the room where they kept their robes. Ghetsis, of course, had several but the public was unaware of this. On a chair, was Ghetsis’ new black robe, neatly folded with an envelope on top. N reached over and handed the envelope to his father, who read it. 

"It appears that the others have unanimously decided that I should wear this black robe and you wear my ‘signature’ robe,” said Ghetsis, as he read the letter in the envelope.

“You mean I get to wear the ‘Moth Dress’?!” asked N excitedly.

Sighing Ghetsis asking, “Yes, but why does everyone here call it _that_?”

“Because it makes you look like a moth, just watch,” said N, as he hurried to get dressed. 

Narrowing his eyes, Ghetsis mumbled, “Ugh…No wonder that ‘champion’, Alder, keeps staring at me the way he does. That man is too obsessed with moths.”

Ghetsis’ signature robe, the “Moth Dress,” was actually one of the most comfortable outfits to wear because it was both light and poofy. However, the chest-plating was quite heavy, it was at least 24 lbs. Fortunately for N, he had known enough moves that he was powerful-enough to wear it without it affecting his movement much. Like his father, N required no assistance to equip the chest-plating.

Ghetsis hurried to put on his black robes. It felt strange to wear them, since he wasn’t used to wearing robes so light, he almost felt naked. He grabbed a black scrunchie and tied his hair back in a ponytail before putting on his hat. Not wanting to ruin the aesthetic, Ghetsis put on some black aviator sunglasses to cover up his deformed eye.

Seeing that his father put on sunglasses, N did the same. But the pair he got were cateye sunglasses with a thick white frame and red lenses. N brushed his hair, so it could drape similarly over his shoulders like how his father wore it. However, N lacked his father’s soft, silky curly ringlets, so his bushy curls ended up making him look like a Christmas tree instead. Unconcerned, N finally topped off the look by donning his crown.

Ready, the pair headed to the garage because they were on their way to the courthouse in Icirrus City. The other sages were already waiting for them, including Colress who wore similar sage robes, but his were silver, as were his sunglasses.

Ghetsis’ eye widened and he asked, “Why is Colress wearing robes too? He’s not even ordained.”

“We have to complete the nonet,” replied Ryoku. “Besides, Colress is smart and cunning. Soon he will know enough to be considered Team Plasma’s eighth sage.”

Colress remained calm. Once again, he reluctantly agreed to join the sages at the courthouse since N had politely asked him to. Something about N made it difficult for Colress to tell him, “No.” Colress wondered if perhaps Ghetsis may’ve had a similar charm back in his youth before he became an inhuman freak.

Rood and Zinzolin were busy packing their lunch into the limo’s trunk. To them, it was going to be a long ride. (Although, not nearly as awful as poor Anthea practically being sent to the other side of Unova for her clinicals.)

N helped his father into the limo, and then the other sages, before figuring out how to get into the limo himself. The chest-plating made him feel so wide and squared. Finally, once N was settled, the limo left the castle and departed for Icirrus City. Along the way, they passed by the Unova Pokemon League building, which was practically right next door to Team Plasma’s Castle.

“It’s messed up that the Pokémon League building is so close to our castle,” said N. “Our castle has been here for hundreds of years.”

“Sadly, the decision to place it here back in 1953, shortly before my grandfather’s sudden death,” replied Ghetsis. “Growing up, I remember hearing mother and grandmother discussing whether or not they should rent out rooms in our castle for trainers who come to battle in the tournament. They always came to the right decision and declined. I mean, all of the servants were dismissed in the 1950s too, for safety reasons.”

“What kinds of safety reasons?” asked Colress.

“Murderous ones,” replied N, as his father looked on in shock. “My great-grandfather was poisoned shortly after he stepped down as Unova’s ruler. It was one of the ‘servants’ who was paid a ‘very generous’ sum to do the deed. I know this because I spoke to the investigator and he told me about it. I was unable to do anything myself, because I researched this suspect and found out that they died ‘suddenly’ shortly afterwards too. Who’s to say that someone pretending to be one of these trainers won’t try to attack me, my father, or my sisters? Even you sages, and the grunts who are stationed here, are at risk.”

“When did you talk to the investigator?!” interrupted Rood.

“Like five years ago,” replied N nervously. “The investigator got killed too but he came back as father’s Cofagrigus. I was curious about him. I had heard that ghost-type pokémon were once humans like us and wanted to know if that applied to him or not.”

“What about my Cofagrigus?” asked Gorm. “Is she a pokémon, like her offspring, or another deceased person?”

“She’s deceased too,” replied N. “She won’t tell me the circumstances. I know for a fact she’s told father’s Cofagrigus, but he refuses to say anything. Perhaps it’s too painful for her to say. I do know that she enjoys being a pokémon; says it’s less stressful and she likes to feel strong.”

Clapping his hands happily, Gorm said, “I understand, I won’t pry.” He turned to his fellow sages, “So, what’s for lunch?”

“We packed some bean curry,” said Bronius. “I had picked some beans yesterday morning. Hard work, but relaxing.”

Gorm smiled, “Excellent!”

They had just caught sight of Opelucid City, when Colress noticed Zinzolin suddenly get tense. Then he remembered the sage’s vendetta against that innocent town, and he said, “If I remember correctly, 86% of the voters from this city voted in favor of reinstating the Harmonia monarchy.”

“Of course they would vote for the Harmonias,” said Giallo. “The Unovan Village of Dragons is _ right there _ . I’ve been to the original one in Johto, that one is located near Blackthorn City. They’re both so similar that it’s easy to think they’re the same one. Anyway, for both, their residents _ love _ dragons. Just tell them a dragon is involved in a nice way, and they’d support whatever cause you’re championing. All they needed to see was Reshiram, and that was enough to legitimize N as their true king.”

Calming down, Ghetsis replied, “Yes, I remember my first speech there, back in 1988. I took a gamble and let my Deino up on stage with me. But he didn’t stay there too long and went to rest under a beach umbrella we had placed near the stage for shade. He did that every time I gave a speech there. I didn’t mind that most of the Q&A over there were just questions about Deino, later Zweilous, and eventually Hydreigon.”

N smiled, but quickly made a neutral expression since he was unsure if his father was pulling a dirty trick by distracting the audience with his pokémon. (The truth was that Ghetsis loved his pokémon as much as he loved to ramble. In this case, he wasn't being manipulative, he was just very excited about his dragon and wanted to share.) 

“I miss him as a Deino,” said Ghetsis as he showed Deino’s approximate size with his hands. “He was this small. When I met him, I had no idea he was rare. He just showed up in the property one day and appeared to be lost. I took him in and kept him in my room.”

“Aren’t those…bitey?” asked Colress. Fascinated by Ghetsis’ ability to befriend pokémon who were known to be hostile to humans, like the Foongi.

“Mine wasn’t,” replied Ghetsis. “But then, I gave him a stick for him to use to tap his surroundings. I also made him soft puffy vests to keep him from hurting himself. I even tied a bow on his head to keep that fur away from his eyes and gave him sunglasses for protection. I have photos of this that I scanned to use as my phone and laptop wallpaper.” Ghetsis showed everyone with him photos of his pampered Deino. 

Ghetsis continued to ramble more about his family’s misfortune. He couldn’t help but vent his concerns about his feelings of an impending betrayal. However, he knew that no one there in the limo with him noticed his cries for help and had no choice but to accept that they all weren’t concerned about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * That big castle-looking thing on Ghetsis' robes looks like training weights to me. I'm annoyed that I haven't found enough depictions of him taking it off and running around really fast.
>   * My friend calls Ghetsis' robes "The Moth Dress". So that's what it's called here by everyone. It's an apt description.
>   * The Hoenn Interview was in the last chapter of “[American Royals](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726063/chapters/49271819)”.
>   * I had too many questions regarding N's coronation and made up my own answers to them. (It was a private Team Plasma-only celebration.) 
>   * I omitted the part where Ghetsis said he crowned N as "King of Team Plasma". And that this title was controversial since Unova wasn't ruled by a monarchy anymore and N shouldn't have had the title of King. But he was King of Team Plasma, not Unova, so Ghetsis wasn't legally stepping out of bounds.


	9. Court of the Damned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team Plasma admins and the defendants make the final preparations before the trial begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This lawsuit is a reference to the Pokémon Generations short. ;3c

In Icirrus City, the two defendants were sitting in a van, joined by their attorneys. These defendants were Elesa, a top model and Nimbasa City's Gym Leader, and Brycen, a popular actor and Icirrus City’s Gym Leader. 

Concerned, Brycen asked the attorneys, “Do you think it’s a good idea just to pay Team Plasma those hundreds of thousands of dollars they’re asking for? I haven’t been able to sleep for days thinking about this.”

“Look, I may not trust Ghetsis, but I know he’s also a man who wouldn’t want to stress himself over a lawsuit,” interrupted Elesa. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about ‘King Natural’. That guy looks tenacious.” Elesa stopped because the last thing she wanted to do was upset Brycen, who was too tired to keep calm. She could already tell that N was the type to drag such a lawsuit on until both her and Brycen’s reputation was tarnished.

Brycen sighed and said to Elesa. “I wish I were as strong and disciplined as you.” Elesa’s eyes widened in surprise, as Brycen continued. “You look so serene.”

“Accepting their offer is reasonable,” said an attorney. “It seems all they are interested is paying for medical expenses.”

"Medical expenses?" asked Elesa. 

"Team Plasma grunts were injured during that big battle against you guys some weeks ago," said another attorney. "Several were hospitalized."

Brycen turned pale, "What?"

"They have evidence and multiple witnesses," replied another attorney.

"Yes, paying them seems the most convenient," replied Elesa. "Are we supposed pay to this together or separate?"

"I believe it was together," said the attorney. 

"Very well," said Brycen as he pulled out his pokéball.

They got out of the van and Brycen summoned his Bearartic. Elesa did the same, and summoned her Zebstrika. Just then, the Team Plasma limo pulled up and N caught a glimpse of Elesa and Brycen with their pokémon out, as they walked into the courthouse together, accompanied by their attorneys.

N gasped, "I forgot my pokémon!"

"Hey, I'm right here!" chirped N's Joltik who was sitting on his shoulder. N smile nervously and petted him, "Oops I forgot. Sorry."

"It's alright," said Zinzolin, "Feeling nervous is expected. But we packed everything and all should be fine."

In Unova, it was customary for trainers to bring one pokémon to court for their hearings. This stemmed from a custom that began in the 1930s. Seeing a pokémon's interaction with their trainer would either condemn a suspect or was additional proof of their innocence. (After all, pokémon could not lie.) This custom is also practiced in certain towns in other distant regions.

"Ugh! I forgot my pokémon," replied Colress, as he patted down his robes.

Ghetsis was quick to throw one of his pokéballs in his direction. "I'll let you borrow my Cofagrigus. He probably wants to make another public appearance. Main reason I was torn between bringing him or Natural."

Colress was too confused to reply.

"…My Hydreigon, his name is 'Natural', and I named my son after him," replied Ghetsis, upon realizing that Colress probably didn’t know about this.

"Oh…and thank you," said Colress.

"You're welcome," said Ghetsis. 

Everyone got out of the limo. Ghetsis was quick to summon his Hydreigon, Natural, and gave him a hug. Hydreigon's center head remained stoic as his lesser heads blushed and purred.

Ryoku summoned his Venusaur. It was a very large, old pokémon. Despite living in Unova for years, Venusaur just couldn't get used to it. Ryoku petted his head and gave him a kiss. Since this was once the starter Bulbasaur he received from the professor as a 10 year-old boy, they had also grown very close and Venusaur put up with this strange land to be with his friend. Although Venusaur missed his beloved Kanto, he knew he would also miss the other pokémon he had met and befriended here in Unova.

Giallo summoned his Krookodile. This was one of the first pokémon he had caught when he arrived in Unova, back in 1983, as a Sandile. The only reason he couldn't bear to trade or release this pokémon was because he befriended his starter, his Feraligatr, and these two pokémon were inseparable. The Feraligatr was shy and got nervous during public appearances, while Krookodile loved the spotlight. He gave Krookodile a high five. Excited to be out, Krookodile nodded at the other pokémon and then at N.

Bronius summoned his Bastiodon. Unlike the other sages, Bronius never went to see the professor when he turned 12, to start his journey. Instead, he was taught by one of his uncles who let him borrow a recently caught Shieldon, in order for him to catch his first pokémon. However, it became clear that Shieldon had taken a liking to Bronius, that he traded his catch with his uncle and kept Shieldon instead. Bronius and Shieldon traveled together until it was time for Bronius to go to college. Although, that was another journey as well, since they traveled to Unova together. Bronius petted his Bastiodon.

Zinzolin summoned his Cryogonal. It was an easy decision for him, because he cared deeply about the aesthetic. (Not only did the floating pokémon look cute, but also because wanted to show-off and prove he was a better ice-type trainer than Brycen.) Of course, Cryogonal had a special place in Zinzolin’s cold, petty heart. It was the first ice-type pokémon that Zinzolin ever caught, since he was quite a laidback trainer in his native Kalos. It was also the first one to give Zinzolin the idea that he needed to treat his cryofrozen ice curse with ice, since he blasted Zinzolin with Ice Beam in an attempt to cure him, and Zinzolin felt immediate relief. Zinzolin smiled at Cryogonal.

Rood summoned his Swoobat. He met Swoobat, who was then a young Woobat in 1984, when Ghetsis had invited Rood and the others to his home, so they could study together. As they were reading, Woobat landed on Rood’s shoulder and curled up next to him. According to N, Swoobat had told him that he liked Rood immediately and could see he was a kind, loyal person. Fortunately, Ghetsis had a Fast Ball on hand, made from one of the white apricorn fruits that grew on the property. He encouraged Rood to hold up the ball next to Woobat, because if Woobat liked him, he’d allow himself to get caught. Woobat tried to headbutt the ball but fell into Rood’s lap. Rood then just tapped Woobat’s head with the ball and caught him. Swoobat looked around. Seeing Rood again, he made unintelligible excited chirps and no one had a clue what he was saying.

Gorm summoned his Sirfetch’d. Back in 1969, when he went with his family on a picnic, he found a young Farfetch’d who had gotten lost from his mother. The duckling pokémon didn’t hesitate to approach young Gorm and followed him around. Gorm’s family was amused by this and allowed him to catch the Farfetch’d with an extra ball they had. Although both of them grew up and studied the blade together, Gorm never felt right about catching Farfetch’d as he did. It was only after going abroad to study in Unova that his eyes were opened to the truth, but Sirfetch’d held no grudge against his friend for this. In fact, he was thankful.

Finally, Colress summoned Ghetsis’s Cofagrigus. Cofagrigus looked at Colress and smiled. He opened up his side and pulled out a mask which he clipped on top of his normal one. This mask looked exactly the same as his normal one except it had markings around its eyes that made him look like he was wearing glasses. Unsure whether or not the court hearing was going to be televised, he wanted to disguise himself. Colress smiled, although he wished he had brought his Alolan Muk, which was a gift from his cousin’s wife, Lusamine. He noticed that the other sages had mostly chosen pokémon from their respective regions and Colress seemed to be the only one here who “represented” Alola.

The pokémon and their trainers entered the courtroom, where Elesa and Brycen waited for them. The jurors and the audience saw the sages walk in with their pokémon and were immediately surprised that there were nine men instead of seven. (Though many of them made the mistake of not including N.) They were most confused about the Black Sage, the Silver Sage, and “Ghetsis”. Right away, they realized the Black Sage was Ghetsis himself since his Hydreigon had a particular look to him that was instantly recognizable. The man wearing the Moth Dress was likely King Natural himself, but his youthful boyish face was nearly identical to his father’s that many people assumed that he was Ghetsis. (The crown should’ve given them a hint, but they were likely mesmerized by the Moth Dress’ eye patterns.) Finally, no one had any idea who the Silver Sage was because this was the first time they ever seen him. They assumed he was likely King Natural’s best friend because he looked close to N’s age. The Sages took a seat next to their pokémon as they waited for the judge to arrive.

Brycen whispered to Elesa, “I don’t remember seeing that gray twink at the castle.”

“He’s probably some new admin they promoted,” whispered Elesa, who couldn’t help but be disgusted by Colress. “I don’t trust him. Not so much because he has the same creepy vibes as Ghetsis, but he’s clearly a steel-type trainer, yet he’s got that ghost-type. That’s probably not his pokémon.”

“Wait, how can you tell he’s a steel-type trainer?” asked Brycen.

Elesa looked into his eyes and said, “I’ll tell you later. Please remind me, though.”

The judge finally arrived and everyone stood up until he arrived at the podium and allowed everyone to take a seat. The judge was surprised that the Team Plasma admins didn’t bring any attorneys with them; and then it hit him – Team Plasma was being represented by Lord Ghetsis. The judge wanted to walk out of the room because he embarrassed himself for not figuring this out immediately.

N stood up, took off his sunglasses, and said to the judge, “Your Honor, as King of both Team Plasma and Unova, I regret to inform you that the reason we are gathered here today is because these two Gym Leaders, decided it was acceptable to sicc their pokémon on our grunts. Due to my father’s suggestion, Team Plasma is only asking for the defendants to cover medical expenses. Here are the itemized bills.” N handed the judge a folder containing the bills.

Before the judge opened the folder he said to N, “Your Majesty, for the love of Arceus, please put your sunglasses back on. Your vacant eyes are disturbing.”

“Yes sir,” replied N, as he put his sunglasses back on. He was too focused on the task at hand to laugh at the judge because he found his statement to be ludicrous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Yeah that’s right, I wrote Sirfetch’d into this fic. Felt it was fitting since Gorm’s name is Gaelic and he gives the Swords Dance TM to the player in the game.
>   * Colress had a brain fart and left his pokéballs back at the castle. Despite looking so cold and calm, Colress was freaking out about this lawsuit and this first public appearance as a Team Plasma admin. (It’s all out of his comfort zone.) Fortunately, his emotional castration, came through and he didn’t visibly freak out.
>   * I will always make fun of N’s soulless eyes.


	10. Trial and Retribution

The judge read the amounts listed on the bills. N had also given the judge evidence of the injuries that the grunts had suffered. Of course, the judge brought in his own licensed doctor, who had interviewed the victims. She also examined the evidence. All of which confirmed that the victims were indeed injured by pokémon.

Zebstrika looked at Beartic and said to him, “Are we going to go to jail too?”

“No,” replied Beartic, “Usually, they’d lock us up in a PC box, until our trainers get released. I’m sure we’re not, but I can see your concern. Damn, I knew it was a bad idea to obey my trainer in attacking those humans.”

“Shhh!” hissed Zebstrika, “Not so loud, I heard King Natural can understand pokémon. He looks like the type who wouldn’t hesitate to use our conversation against our trainers. Oh no, I really don’t want Elesa to go to jail. She is a good girl. Brycen is a good boy too. They don't deserve to be in jail.”

Unfortunately, N managed to catch their conversation but said nothing. As much as he would’ve loved to use it against the gym leaders, his “proof” was simply his word and N knew that was insufficient.

Venusaur shook his head and sighed. “I pity those brainwashed pokémon. Their trainers are clearly sadists. Hopefully, those trainers get locked up in jail indefinitely and those innocent pokémon released, as they should be.” 

“Hmph…,” replied Hydreigon. “The way the Unovan legal system is, these ‘celebrities’ are going to walk away scott-free. Now, if these humans could only understand how us pokémon handle things, I’d be more than willing to battle for these injured underlings and bring them justice. Don’t you agree that this is the more tasteful option?”

“Humans don’t do trial by battle,” replied Cofagrigus. “But that’s certainly more tasteful. Especially, since the human judges of my day gave justice to the highest bidder.”

Swoobat looked at Beartic and said to him, “This is awful.”

“I know,” replied Beartic. “I haven’t been able to sleep in weeks. I didn’t want to hurt them, I swear.”

“I’m very sorry,” replied Cryogonal. “At least be glad there were no fatalities. After all, most humans aren’t as strong as pokémon and cannot withstand direct hits. It’s a miracle that they’ve all been released from the hospital.”

“Shh!” hissed Bastiodon. “I’m trying to listen to what the judge is saying.”

“Move closer,” replied Krookodile.

Bastiodon got up closer, and sat down. Sirfetch’d joined him, although he was more curious as to why this boring trial was necessary, because as a warrior, he completely agreed with Hydreigon in that the humans should battle it out. Of course, he didn’t care if the battle was unfair since the Team Plasma admins all knew pokémon moves, whereas only one of the defendants knew.

Joltik blushed and looked at N, he was still a kid compared to these other adult pokémon. He had no idea what was happening but knew it wasn’t good. N held him in the palm of his hand and petted him.

Suddenly, N covered Joltik’s face. The doctor, then showed a digital slideshow with graphic photos of the victims’ injuries. They were mostly first-degree burns and arrhythmias (which were the ones that needed ICU.) The burns would’ve been worse, had their Team Plasma grunt uniforms not protected their bodies. N removed his hand away from Joltik’s face when the doctor finished her presentation.

Brycen turned pale, caught up in the moment, he didn’t think of the consequences of his actions. As for Elesa, she remained calm, albeit slightly disgusted. N looked at the sages, who also mostly remained completely calm, except his father. 

Despite wearing his sunglasses, Ghetsis could see perfectly well in the darkness thanks to his cursed eye. He had seen the slideshow in crisp detail and was struggling to get his emotions under control. During this “final battle,” Ghetsis had been locked up in one of the rooms. He had gone to fetch his pokéballs and had accidentally locked himself in, or so he thought. Once again, the other sages made a decision without consulting Ghetsis. They knew their friend and leader would not hesitate to battle alongside the grunts and personally attack the gym leaders. Unlike pokémon, a human’s attacks equally injured pokémon and humans alike. Despite knowing over 30 moves, Ghetsis still felt strong emotions; his spirit too powerful to contain, making him a dangerously fatal encounter. By the time Ghetsis managed to escape, convincing Cofagrigus to use his shadow arms to go through the gap and unlock the door, the battle was over and Team Plasma had won.

Zinzolin reached over and held Ghetsis’ right hand. He could feel the tension in the room as the aura changed. His leader felt at fault for not “preventing” this, but at the same time, since his attacks struck everyone equally, he could’ve easily injured an innocent grunt who would’ve accidentally gotten in his way. Rood looked over nervously, since he was the one with the idea to lock him up. He knew the risks and it was better for his leader to be upset for not intervening, than him to be upset that he injured grunts with his attacks. Even if Ghetsis miraculously wouldn’t have hit grunts, he could’ve injured the gym leaders and then Team Plasma would be on the defendant’s side for assault or possibly murder.

The jury then left for deliberations, as everyone whispered to each other. N and the other sages went to comfort Ghetsis, who had no idea how to process the affection. Part of his mind was telling him that their comforts were shallow and insincere. (After all, they all turned their backs on him, despite supposedly being so close to him, in the regular world.) Yet his heart felt their sincerity was genuine and tried his best to accept it.

As for Colress, emotionally crippled, he approached the doctor and began to ask her questions. The doctor was surprised but eager to share her knowledge with Colress.

Elesa looked around and whispered to Brycen, who was on edge, “That man knows too many pokémon moves himself. He’s too nonchalant about this, like a heartless machine.”

“Like Ghetsis?” asked Brycen.

“No,” replied Elesa. “Ghetsis is an outlier. His excess doesn’t and shouldn’t count.”

“How do you know about this?” asked Brycen.

Elesa looked at him in the eyes and that’s all she needed to do. Brycen clutched his chest realizing that she spoke from experience. She added, “I can hear it in their voices.”

Back in 2003, Elesa started her pokémon journey and wanted to become more than just a beauty. About two years later, impatient because she wanted instant results, she had also overheard one of Ghetsis’ speeches about learning pokémon moves and why that was bad. She didn’t believe a single word he said due to her rebellious nature, and the fact that Ghetsis’ easily looked as if he was still in his 20s despite being 40. She assumed that his ageless beauty was a side-effect from learning moves and wanted to have that too, since it would guarantee her longevity in her dream career of modeling. Elesa decided to focus on electric-type moves since she wanted to specialize in that.

Unfortunately, Elesa forgot about the supposed 10 move limit that Ghetsis mentioned and learned the hard way – since she was on the verge of learning an 11th move she had no choice but to sacrifice a body part in order to gain it. She chose her ears. After it was over, Elesa knew her new move at the cost of blue-ish discolored ears. The deformity, albeit “light” horrified her, but she was unable to express her anguish as her emotions were spayed. Ghetsis was right and Elesa quit learning moves after this. She also began to wear headphones and earmuffs, which eventually became her signature style.

But all was not lost. Elesa became a very skilled trainer and defeated the Elite Four in 2007, only to lose to Alder. Due to her talent, the Unova League offered her a spot as a gym leader in Nimbasa City, which she gladly accepted. She also continued with her modeling career, which was unaffected by her gym leader title. Despite everything, Elesa regrets sacrificing her ears and being unable to express her emotions. Because of her “personality change”, she lost many of her oldest friends but one, fellow gym leader Skyla.

The jury returned from deliberations and ordered Elesa and Brycen to pay 25% more of the amount that Team Plasma requested. Without hesitation, Elesa and Brycen signed their checkbooks and handed the checks to the bailiff, who handed the checks for the judge to inspect them. After inspecting them, the judge paperclipped the checks onto the folder that N had given him, and handed the folder to the bailiff, so he could return it to N. N did the math and the calculations were correct, though he wanted retribution, not money. The Team Plasma admins recalled their pokémon and left the courtroom solemnly, despite winning.

Elesa and Brycen stood next to each other, feeling both relieved and empty, since the burden of stress had been lifted from their shoulders. Brycen looked her in the eye and said, “Let's meet up at my gym, I have something important that I need to share with you.”

Elesa and Brycen paid the attorneys and they walked to the nearby bus stop, as the attorneys left in the company van. Elesa had a bad feeling about what Brycen wanted to tell her, he had very expressive eyes, and he looked upset. Some other pedestrians joined them at the stop, but didn't recognize either gym leaders. Their formal attire was too modest and plain. To them, they looked like ordinary citizens. (Even Brycen's mask was seen as an ordinary accessory that somehow didn't give him away as the popular actor.) It was a good thing that they blended in because they wanted the privacy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Once again, I messed up and made this Ghetsis too OP. He could easily rack up a body count, if he was allowed to go berserk.
>   * Elesa is an inhuman freak, only because I was trying to figure out which other characters should be afflicted with this curse. I chose her because those headphones look unnecessary. And she seems to have a distant gaze just like Colress.
>   * To put it bluntly, most of Elesa’s childhood friends thought she turned into a massive bitch after she started getting more competitive with her training. Skyla, was the only one who made an effort to figure out what was going on because she didn’t want to lose their friendship.
>   * As for Brycen, he’s a normal human being who’s just really good at martial arts. He's truly a talented actor.


	11. Shock and Freeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elesa and Brycen have a little chat after the court hearing at Icirrus City Gym.

As Team Plasma celebrated their victory on their ride back home, Elesa and Brycen still waited for the bus. A few minutes later it arrived, just in time, which was shocking to Brycen. (It seemed that King N really was doing something about making public transportation more efficient throughout Unova, as he had promised in his inaugural speech.)

Brycen paid two tickets and sat next to Elesa. While he usually walked or biked around Icirrus City, he didn't think it was fair to make Elesa walk around a lot since she was wearing high heels. The fact that the buses were cleaner also surprised him.

"Crap!" said Elesa, "I forgot to tell Skyla that we finished and that we’re heading to the gym."

Calmly, Brycen said in a heavy Sinnohan accent, "Skylie can wait. We'll tell her after the gym registration. That reminds me, get your Trainer ID ready. They always ask for it at the gym."

"Oh yeah…," replied Elesa. "Hold my bag please." Elesa began to search frantically. In the process, she spotted a man in the middle rows who looked like a paparazzo. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed both celebrities and continued to look out of the window. Elesa let out a sigh of relief, glad that she sounded different when she wasn't doing a public performance. She got her pokédex, which had her trainer information, and composed herself.

"I want to go back to Sinnoh again," said Brycen with his fake but believable accent. "It's lovely this time of year, especially at night. The skies are clear, dark and colorful like black opals. Perhaps, you'd like to go with me, if you're not too busy."

Elesa's eyes widened; couldn't tell if Brycen was being serious or if he was acting like some random man talking to his friend, tricking fellow passengers that he _ wasn't _ Brycen. "Um…I'll think about it." 

"Well then," replied Brycen. "Here's the gym. Let's go, Alyssa."

The bus had reached the outskirts of town. The gym was partially underground in a wild area. Bryce liked this location for two reasons; it was quiet, excellent for meditation, and it made it easier to spot annoying paparazzi.

Elesa got up with him and exited the bus. They both excitedly hurried to the gym's door, which was still far from the bus stop, and pretended to be shocked that the gym was closed. As soon as the bus turned the corner, Brycen unlocked the door and entered the gym. 

"I have a question I've been meaning to ask you," said Elesa, as she walked down the hallway with Brycen.

"Yes?" replied Brycen normally.

"Are you actually from Sinnoh?" Asked Elesa. "You look like it but your hairline says differently. It’s jagged."

"No, but I am of Sinnohan descent," said Brycen. "My mom is Sinnohan but she was born here in Unova. My father is fully-Unovan, so I have mixed heritage. I can see where it gets confusing. When I started my acting career, at 16, my first manager advised me to embrace my Sinnohan heritage. He said that would make me more appealing to international markets. Though I now regret listening to him, since it feels like I’ve shunned my Unovan heritage by doing this.”

Elesa frowned. “I don't think your appeal, both domestic and abroad, has to do with you being from Sinnoh. No one ever mentions that about Mecha Cop or Brycen-Man.”

“I know,” said Brycen, “That’s what makes me feel worse. But then, that manager was an awful man. So I’m glad I fired him. And yes, the reason I asked you to come here is related to all of this. I need your advice.”

“What? Mine?!” asked Elesa nervously.

“Yes,” replied Brycen, “You’re the only other fellow celebrity I trust. Especially, since you’re not afraid to tell people your opinions and your truths.”

“About that…,” chuckled Elesa sheepishly, “…it’s because I physically can’t react to fear anymore. I appear braver than how I actually feel.” Seeing Brycen’s concerned expression, she stopped. She had forgotten that Brycen had figured out she was an inhuman freak back at the courtroom. (At least, she no longer had to explain too much about herself to him.)

Crossing his arms, Brycen replied, “Sincerity comes from within. Even admitting that you did _ that_, takes a lot of bravery, which I admire.” Seeing that Elesa was calmed and relieved by his reply, Brycen continued, “I’ve been considering this for a long time and I want to know, do you think it’s a good idea to quit being a Gym Leader?”

“What? No!” cried Elesa. “Why would you do that?”

Perhaps it was his Unovan pride, but Brycen hesitated before he said, “I don’t like these new changes to the league. And Lenora’s resignation has made me feel more uneasy about this. All of this stress is affecting my acting. I can’t focus or get into character.”

“I hope this isn’t about the ‘Brycen-Man’ robbery,” said Elesa.

“That thief, the one everyone keeps claiming was dressed as Brycen-Man, looks nothing like Brycen-Man!” cried Brycen. “But no, my reasons for quitting are unrelated. Although that thief seems to be the only other person who’s successfully portrayed ‘Brycen-Man’. I’m both impressed and disappointed.”

As straightforward as his concept was, Brycen-Man had been a difficult character for many other actors to play. Mostly because they think Brycen-Man is some sort homme fatal, when he isn’t. At least, how Brycen has chosen to play this character (whom he feels was specifically created for the sole purpose of making him wear that ridiculously tight catsuit). Much like the thief, the last thing Brycen had in mind was being sexy. Instead, he was focused on Brycen-Man’s mischief. In the thief’s case, he focused on stealing one of the museum’s rare fossils, which he did, and has yet to be caught.

“Okay, good,” smiled Elesa. “I wonder if you can speak to the officials about needing to take a break. Though I’ve taken a break from modelling to focus on running my gym. The breaks have been great, they’ve given me time to mentally unwind. Right now, it’s not that you’re quitting. It’s like a pause that will give you time to figure things out. And if you do decide to quit, it’s a more level-headed decision than something impulsive.”

Brycen smiled, “That’s a much better idea. Thank you. I felt awful about quitting because I love training and running this gym…I just hate how Team Plasma is meddling with the league and trying to ruin everything.”

They continued to chat for a bit, before Elesa remembered that she needed to call Skyla and excused herself for a bit, and walked away. Elesa called her friend Skyla and told her about the trial. As she called, she sent Skyla a photo of Colress via text, asking if Skyla had recognized him. 

“He’s cute,” replied Skyla. “But yes, I’ve seen him before at the airport. That blue hair thing is unmistakable but I don’t know his name though. He also doesn’t look like someone I’d expect working for Team Plasma. Actually, none of those admins look like they’d be working with Team Plasma. Not sure if you saw that Hoenn interview with them where they dressed casually. Hold on, let me find a pic.”

Skyla sent Elesa a couple of screenshots from the interview. Most of the sages looked like a bunch of random gray-haired middle-aged men. Ghetsis and N looked out of place compared to the rest. They appeared as they were – two younger-looking, pale green haired guys but N looked like he was a young teen boy.

“I have no words for this,” replied Elesa.

“No one seems to,” replied Skyla. “Most people speculate that they tried to dress like average people in an attempt to humble themselves. Fortunately, this didn’t work. But I refuse to think of these weirdos as ‘average’. The king looks like an innocent harmless boy, which is a lie because he’s anything _but_ harmless. I also refuse to believe that Ghetsis is an attractive man when he's not wearing that bizarre outfit."

"I think that's exactly what he wants us to think," said Elesa. "People tend to dismiss important messages if the speaker is too beautiful. It happens to me a lot and it's annoying. Though I think it's a shame this man is wasting his talents; good looks, impressive stage presence, and an excellent voice. Seems like the type that would've been one of those singers who sang songs that have thoughtful messages. But instead, he spews 'pokémon liberation' garbage."

"Have you considered getting into music, yourself?" asked Skyla. 

"Never," replied Elesa. "I know I can't sing and autotune won't salvage any of it. Though I do like the popstar look."

"You should try it," said Skyla. 

"Do you really think so?" asked Elesa. "I have been thinking about it but I wasn't sure."

"Of course," said Skyla, "if you want, I can fly over to your place and we can talk about designs. I already have some ideas in mind that could work for you."

"Hmm…," said Elesa. "I could always tell Brycen to drop me off at your place. He promised to drive me back home to Nimbasa City but Mistralton City is much closer. Plus, he's been having a rough day. I know lunch hour traffic is awful. I'll go tell him and call you back on whatever he decides."

"Alright, see you later," said Skyla as she waited for Elesa to hang up.

"Bye," said Elesa as she hung up.

Meanwhile, Brycen headed to the arena to train. There, he was met by his fellow gym trainers, who had overheard his conversation with Elesa, because both of them talked too loud. They were heartbroken about Brycen’s impending decision. This was another reason Brycen wasn’t sure about quitting, he didn’t want to let these trainers and the rest of the gym staff down. They began discussing what to do next, together.

Just then, Elesa knocked on the door and entered the icy arena. She smiled and said to Brycen, “On second thought, wouldn’t it be easier for you to drop me off at Misaltron City? Skyla can fly me back to Nimbasa City.”

“Yeah, it would be easier,” said Brycen. “Let’s go after lunch, the gym’s staff informed me they had something prepared for us.”

Elesa smiled and they headed to the lounge to have lunch. As expected, there were some leftovers, which Brycen insisted Elesa take with her to share with Skyla. Elesa took the leftovers and both of them traveled to the Misaltron City Gym by car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Brycen started acting at 16 but it was like how the BW2 protags act, which was him battling on-screen. He became the sexy titular villain, with the clearly unimaginative name, came a couple of years later. (To me, Brycen-Man just looks like a male version of [Black Cat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_\(Marvel_Comics\)) with a [Tarantulas](https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Tarantulas_\(BW\)) color-scheme.)
>   * Brycen is pale like Cyrus and has the same jagged hairline as Ghetsis and Alder (Lysandre too). That's really the only reason I decided he should be biracial in my fics. (Half-Sinnohan/Half-Unovan).
>   * Brycen being ill-advised told to shun his Unovan heritage, means that Unova is seen as a third world country in this AU. Doesn’t help that Unovans don't have universal healthcare and “act like animalistic savages”, since they're known to personally train pokémon themselves for EXP. Makes Ghetsis' plan to rule the world seem futile and pointless. Who'd take this man from Unova seriously? He has no real power. And he already gets mocked overseas for his pokémon liberation speeches. (Cynical takes like, ”Why is he concerned about pokémon when people are suffering?” Then these cynics don’t do anything about the suffering themselves because they only want to complain.)
>   * I wanted to write more about Skyla and Elesa. But I figured that if I did, I'll derail this fic. So if I do wrote something, I'll link it here. But I don't know. I didn't really plan this fic deeply either.


	12. Dream Private Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Team Plasma admins have a nice private party and N isn't going to allow anyone to crash their fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to add magic to this fic because pokémon are already magical animals themselves, so it's not going to be that much of a stretch.

The Team Plasma admins headed north to Dragonspiral Tower. They parked just outside, when Ghetsis ordered everyone to hold hands, including the Shadows, who were sitting in the front. Ghetsis pulled out a white orb and placed it on the floor, before resuming holding hands. The sages and N began to chant something in the ancient Unovan dialect, and Colress attempted to follow along. The orb began to glow and everything went white before going black and turning white again. At this point, the sages and the shadows let go of each others’ hands.

The Shadows got out of the limo and opened the doors. They were in a totally different area, covered by beautiful and eerie trees. Colress pulled out his phone to check their location with the GPS, but there was no signal. 

The sages hurried to open the limo’s trunk and get out their lunch. Ghetsis carried the white orb and resumed his eerie but beautiful chanting.

Colress approached N, who was building the campfire in the designated area, and asked, “What happened?”

“We’re in the Entralink,” replied N. “That orb is an ancient family heirloom. If you sing to it, it emits some sort of energy that makes everyone go into a dreamlike-state and then we get magically teleported here.”

Colress looked over and saw a bright, humanoid-shaped light appear in front of Ghetsis. As the light faded away, Colress realized it was Concordia, complete with her backpack and a smaller orb. Ghetsis greeted her with a hug and told her to go get seated.

“I was wondering how your sisters were going to join us,” said Colress.

N chuckled nervously, “I wasn't sure how I was going to explain this, but it makes more sense if you see it,” said N. “Father is going to try to contact my remaining sister, so our picnic could start.”

“Interesting, but I do have one more question,” said Colress.

“Yes?” asked N.

“Are we going to change out of these robes?” asked Colress, “I’d hate for them to get dirty with curry.”

“We got big towels to use as bibs,” said N as he walked with Colress to the limo.

However, the Team Plasma admins were not alone. Moments before they arrived, two young trainers had also teleported into the Entralink. The first one was Professor Juniper’s young assistant, a blonde girl named “Bianca”. She had taken the bus to Nacrene City and traveled to the White Forest, near Black City, on her Emboar’s back. From there, she used her C-Gear to teleport to Entralink. Her mission was simple, she was instructed by Dr. Fennel to attempt to open up a teleportation pathway from Aspertia City and bring a fellow trainer from there. Bianca had successfully brought in her friend, Cheren, who was also Aspertia City’s gym leader.

Their reunion was cut short when a strange beam of light appeared next to them and materialized into a large object before them. Scared because they thought they messed something up, Bianca and Cheren darted into the Entree Forest to hide among the bushes. It was there that they observed the Team Plasma admins coming out of the limo and Ghetsis holding the strange white orb, which seemed to emit powerful dream-like energy.

The two young trainers wanted to flee, but that required them to step back into the Entralink, where they would be spotted by Team Plasma. Since the admins and the three Shadows were pulling out coolers from the limo, it was clear that they were planning to stay in the clearance for a while.

Ghetsis began to sing and his orb began to glow. It was then that Bianca pulled out her phone and recorded Ghetsis’ creepy ritual. Another figure made of light materialized in front of him, it was Anthea along with her Munna-shaped luggage bag. Cheren’s jaw dropped when he saw her. She was the “Young Joy” he had met in Aspertia City’s Pokémon Center. She was also the last person he’d ever expect to see mingling among Team Plasma. Cheren had seen her in two separate occasions and noticed her ability to instantly calm a distressed pokemon, which was both a gift and a blessing. He couldn’t imagine such a person being a part of Team Plasma, but she was (ranked “Goddess” by her father, alongside her sister.) As Ghetsis greeted her with a hug, Cheren noticed that Anthea had her father’s facial features, especially his eyebrows. Without a doubt, they were father and daughter. As Cheren continued to feel betrayed, Bianca finished the recording.

The sages had laid out picnic blankets on the ground, for them to sit on. At the campfire, they heated up their curry and grilled their vegetables. The scent of their cooking reached Bianca and Cheren. Although they hadn’t eaten, Bianca remembered to bring some granola bars for herself and Cheren. Even though they ate these, the smell of Team Plasma’s homemade curry made them hungrier.

After they served themselves curry on hollowed out gourds, and blessed their meals, they chatted casually as they ate. Unfortunately for the young trainers, the admins said nothing remotely incriminating. After all, Ghetsis had good reason to consider his friends the most knowledgeable people from all over the world – they were smart-enough not to talk about their plans out loud.

Suddenly, Bianca and Cheren felt as if they were being pinned to the ground via paralysis, completely enthralled by a foreboding sensation. Cheren and Bianca managed to take a quick glance and noticed that N was staring at them. His mouth may’ve smiled playfully but the Mean Look he gave them was nothing short of terrifying. Unable to look away, they could see it in their eyes that N recognized them from their previous encounter. N slowly got his bamboo spoon and took a bite from his curry with it.

Meanwhile, Concordia noticed that her father was nervous and asked, “What’s wrong, father?”

Ghetsis sighed and said, “Entralink was once a tranquil place where weary pokémon would go to rest and inoffensive humans would go to commune with nature. The unity here, between us, was once a bastion of Unova’s great power. The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost; for none now live who remember it. This sanctuary has been defiled by trainers who have no respect for nature’s balance. I feel this land’s sorrow and how it weeps, deep within my soul.”

“Father,” said N, still with his eyes locked on Bianca and Cheren. “Do you feel this way if there are trainers present here?”

“No,” replied Ghetsis. “This sorrow is constant and ever-growing, and I only experience it here. Surely, you feel it too. After all, you’re much closer to nature than I am. You speak to pokémon, so I have no doubt that this land has spoken to you more directly.”

“I could’ve sworn sensing trainers would feel worse,” replied N. 

“It could, but I don’t know,” said Ghetsis, who resumed eating his curry. “I can’t even enjoy this meal, but I don’t need to enjoy it to satiate my hunger.”

The Team Plasma admins continued eating and chatting. Colress was too busy trying to study Entralink while eating his curry. He was fortunate not to have spilled any on his new robes. Later, Anthea and Concordia each took their small orbs and teleported back to their respective cities, after their father hugged them and bid them farewell. Besides, their classes weren’t over and everything worked out well for them to have their lunch with family and friends. 

As soon as they left, Ghetsis began to clean up and the others followed them. At this point, N finally released Bianca and Cheren from their entrapment. Carefully, they placed their soiled gourds and spoons back in the coolers. They had brought just enough food not to leave any leftovers. The sages were quick to pick up their blankets and also placed them in the trunk before getting in the limo and teleporting away.

When they were sure that Team Plasma was gone, Bianca and Cheren finally went back to the Entralink. 

Cheren looked at Bianca and asked, “What the fuck?”

Sighing, Bianca said, “…I had no idea Team Plasma was going to show up. Believe me. Especially, since I thought you could only travel here with the C-Gear.”

“No, that creep ‘N’ knew we were here,” said Cheren. “Then he kept his mouth shut just to torture us.”

“I don’t know,” said Bianca. “He looked unsure about snitching on us. Like he wanted to, but at the same time, he didn’t want the drama to ruin their picnic.”

“You saw how he was dressed, Bianca,” said Cheren. “The Moth Dress means he’s the leader of Team Plasma. He’s no ‘innocent kid’. He knows exactly what he was doing. C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

Cheren teleported to Driftveil City with his C-Gear, where he planned to take the bus back to Aspertia City. Bianca teleported back to the White Forest, near Black City with hers to head back to Nacrene City and take the bus back to Striaton City to meet up with Dr. Fennel. 

The Team Plasma admins appeared back at the Team Plasma Castle, in front of the entryway. Deeply perturbed by the trip, which he was not expecting to experience, Ghetsis quickly ran back inside the castle, as the Shadow Triad followed. (They feared that Ghetsis was prone to a fall due to his increasingly weakening state.)

Although he was worried about his father because he was also upset, he felt the Shadow Triad were better suited to handle his distressed father. N said to the sages, “My sages, with a show of hands, who wants to dump the dirty gourds and bamboo spoons into the compost heap?”

All of the sages raised their hands.

“Yeah, I thought so,” said N. “I’ll wash the pots that had the curry in them. You can decide among yourselves who takes the trash to the compost heap and who power washes the coolers. Um…please.”

“Yes, my king,” replied the sages in unison, as N carefully carried the pots back into the castle, worried about dirtying the Moth Dress.

The sages closed the trunk and headed into the castle. After they changed into their everyday wear, they went back outside and resumed their cleaning. Meanwhile, N had placed the pots in the kitchen sink and went to change, before scrubbing them. N found the dressing room locked, but he had a key hidden underneath the Team Plasma emblem on the chest-plating and unlocked the door.

Inside, was his father, partially undressed wearing his white tank top and black pants. He was sitting on a chair, crying inconsolably as the Shadows were trying to figure out how to console him. Without hesitation, N ran over and asked, “Father, what’s wrong?”

Ghetsis continued to sob as the Shadow Triad looked at N in confusion. To them, the old man had finally snapped.

Nervously, N made up his mind not to tell his father about Bianca and Cheren. Because he knew that if he did, his father would freak out and suddenly become enraged. Instead, N said, “I wonder if it’s possible to install solar-powered beacons that emit jamming signals that render pokéballs ineffective, over there in Entralink. Colress said that they do this at the Aether Foundation’s Aether Paradise, in Alola.”

“Don’t,” said Ghetsis. “Doing that there is…unnatural, even if it seems just. However, you’ve given me an idea. Get together with Colress and figure out if we can install such devices here. Sometimes I worry that trainers traveling down Victory Road, will take a detour to the castle, trespass, and attempt to kidnap the pokémon who live here. My other concern is if the jamming signal affects pokémon’s sensitive hearing. I rather there be nothing, than having the jamming signal hurt them.”

“I understand,” replied N.

“Stay with me,” said Ghetsis, as he motioned for N to sit down next to him.

Without a second thought, N took off his chest-plating and sat next to his father. The Shadows retreated, hoping to give the pair some privacy. N’s Joltik jumped off his head and crawled up the wall, into a small hole, since he was eager to return to the colony.

“My king, I have been thinking about many concerning things lately,” said Ghetsis. “Trying to figure out where it all went wrong, only to realize that I was doomed from the start. The truth is, that I founded Team Plasma out of my most selfish desire – I wanted to restore our family’s legacy and rightful rule of Unova. The pokémon, they were a secondary concern.”

N looked around nervously, since he valued pokémon equality above all. But at the same time, he should’ve figured that his father cared about his family’s legacy. Their centuries old traditions and customs were very important to him. N felt he had no reason to protest or question this motivation. After all, both were family and this affected both of them equally.

Wiping away his tears, Ghetsis said, “Imagine growing up constantly told that everything you do is wrong and never given any clues as to what is right. Most of your thoughts and subsequent actions are immediately followed by doubt. But then, there’s a single idea that springs to mind that you have no doubts about whatsoever and dedicate your whole life to achieving. For me, I had made up my mind to right wrongs. I was going to restore my family’s legacy with the help of Team Plasma.”

“Father, I don’t mean to interrupt, but isn’t this happening right now?” asked N.

“Yes, yes it is,” replied Ghetsis. “But the people I had hoped to impress – mother, grandmother, uncle, and my various aunts, didn’t even _ live _ to see my victory. They died seeing me as a failure. Can’t help but feel that my work and my struggles were all for nothing. Just like what I saw in Alola, all my careful planning was a waste, and I was left abandoned as a broken man.”

“But father, aren’t legacies things that get passed onto future generations?” Asked N. “I really don’t think you’ve wasted your time or anything. Um…” N’s mind blanked out on what he wanted to say. A small amount of doubt crept into his mind.

“How so?” asked Ghetsis coldly.

N had no choice but to cover his face. Ghetsis suddenly stopped crying but he was unsure why. Just as much as pitied his son (because when he was younger, he often struggled to find the right words to say that wouldn’t result in a scolding), he also resented him because N, no matter which world they were in, was always destined to destroy his hard work. These two emotions were figuratively at each others’ throats, causing Ghetsis to go numb and feel nothing. Realizing that it would look wrong to simply space out, Ghetsis reached over and placed his hand on N’s shoulder, comforting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * The orbs were just extra things I put in here for show to make Team Plasma seem weird in a cultish way, even though they may be connected to "Plasmanity", a 2000 year-old religion that's native to Unova.
>   * Cheren is the only one who acknowledges Ghetsis as Team Plasma's _Leader_. But seeing N dressed as him, means that N has taken over likely due to Ghetsis' health concerns. Rumors about his health have been circulating in the Unovan tabloids, but all these rumors are completely wrong because they all think it's something terminal.
>   * They eat with gourds and bamboo spoons because they're environmentally conscious like this. The sages threw out the more worn-out gourds and spoons. 
>   * Ghetsis' duality rears its head. He’s a man torn between the selfish love for his family and his selfless desire to dominate and oppress for his own "greater good". This would’ve been a better concept to explore _before_ he was recruited into Team Rainbow Rocket.


	13. Mandatory Checkup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghetsis takes his two playmate pokémon, not in his party, to the pokémon vet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was supposed to end in Chapter 12, but I decided to keep on going because I'm a sucker for world building. And there's fanon I had questions about but couldn't find results, so I made up my own. (If you like the concepts I mentioned here, feel free to use and expand on them.)

A week had passed since Cheren had spotted Anthea in Entralink, accompanied by Team Plasma. He had gone to the Pokémon Center for his party to get a check up, since they battled frequently in the gym. (League regulations state that competitive trainers, such as gym leaders, had to go get their pokémon checked out at the clinic at least on a monthly basis. Fortunately, these check ups were free.) 

Behind the frosted glass door leading into the clinic rooms, Cheren spotted the student nurses lined up. Anthea was the easiest to spot because she was the only one with pink hair. This, of course, was what had thrown Cheren off. (He made the assumption that Anthea was some sort of main protagonist heroine because she was studying to be a nurse. She also didn’t seem like she was a bad girl, despite having her father’s exact thick mischievous eyebrows.)

Anthea was looking through the glass door too, and spotted her father. He was there with his Amoonguss and his Galvantula, just as he had planned. Unlike Cheren, Ghetsis was there on a walk-in basis. Anthea, who used her perceptive abilities, stood in line. That way, she could be the one to help her father. Everything, so far, was going according to plan; her father checked in, and waited in the waiting area.

Despite being so casually dressed, other people wondered if he was Ghetsis, Team Plasma’s Representative, but were too afraid to ask. Ghetsis wasn’t known to have an Amoonguss or a shiny Galvantula. Curious, Cheren pulled out his pokédex, muted it, and scanned Galvantula.

According to Cheren’s pokédex, Galvantula belonged to Lord Ghetsis Harmonia V of Unova, who also happened to be his original trainer. The pokédex also stated that Galvantula was medically unfit for battle, although it didn’t specify the reasons. From what Cheren saw, Galvantula looked happy and healthy, while calmly lying on Ghetsis’ lap, cuddled next to Amoonguss.

Cheren was called in and entered the frosted glass doors. The girl in line in front of Anthea, the one with the Emboar, smiled at Cheren upon seeing him and said, "Hey."

Recognizing her, he smiled back and said, "I want a rematch."

The girl laughed and explained to her nurse, that she had battled Cheren to get her second Basic Badge. Cheren saw Anthea, who was focused on the next patient, ignoring him completely. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was told he was there at Entralink. (The truth was that Anthea was too concentrated on her father, to notice Cheren.)

Her father was called next. He carefully held Galvantula with his left arm, and Amoonguss with his right arm. The people nearby were both shocked and in awe at seeing this older man carrying about 50 lbs of pokémon, combined, into the clinic.

Concerned, Anthea said to her father, “Sir, let me help!”

Surprised, Ghetsis replied, “Take Joseph…the Galvantula.”

Anthea carefully got Galvantula and carried him to the room. Anthea’s Joltik, who was underneath her cap, smelled the Galvantula and said, quietly to where the humans were unable to hear her, “Gramps!”

“Jolene,” replied Galvantula quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“I go to school with Anthea,” replied Jolene the Joltik. “Who is there with you? I don’t recognize him and I’m not allowed to peek.”

“Scissor, who apparently is named ‘Caesar’ now,” said Joseph the Galvantula. “I’m not used to his new scent either. Eugh…!”

They entered the room, and the nurse told Anthea to wait with her father in the room, as she stepped out for a bit. Anthea placed Galvantula on the examination table, as Ghetsis placed Amoonguss on it too. He smiled nervously and said to Amoonguss, “You were right to not evolve. You are too heavy now.”

Amoonguss wiggled. He wasn’t used to being three times his original size, but he was starting to enjoy it. His increased power made him more fearless. He regretted not evolving sooner because it actually felt good.

Ghetsis pulled out Galvantula’s pokéball, it was a Premier Ball that he had stolen from a gym raid event. He pretended to have missed and quickly tossed the next ball. (He stole a couple of them this way, because he wanted to save on buying pokéballs.) And handed the ball to Anthea, so the nurse could scan it after she returned.

“Caesar? Really?” asked Anthea, as she took the ball and placed it on a stand, next to the computer’s keyboard.

Embarrassed, Ghetsis said, “Look. I nicknamed him ‘Scissor’ when I was about 6 years old because he was always cutting the grass. I feel he deserves a better nickname now. ‘Joseph’ is self-explanatory because ‘Joltik’ begins with ‘Jo’, so it had to match.”

“I knew about Joseph,” said Anthea. “N said that the Joltiks liked this nickname and have all given each other similar nicknames. The one who comes to class with me is named ‘Jolene’.”

“These pokémon give their offspring better names than what humans pick for their kids,” said Ghetsis as he shook his head. 

Galvantula side-eyed Amoonguss, because even to this day, he had no idea how to pronounce “Ghetsis”. (He has been calling his friend “Ghechis” for these past 40 or so years.) He didn't even know what that name meant and what Ghetsis' parents were thinking when they decided he should be given that strange and ugly name. The children’s names made more sense to him, especially N. Galvantula, as Joltik, was there when Ghetsis had told his Deino, that he would name is first son after him.

The nurse returned with the syringe. She wasn’t gone that long and greeted the pokémon, before logging into the computer. She scanned the pokéball, which allowed her to easily pull up Joseph the Galvantula’s chart, which she closed, and shut down her computer after inspecting it. She put on her insulating gloves and got the syringe ready, saying to Anthea, “Sorry for the wait, I had to grab this special type of syringe that has an insulated needle. The regular needles don’t mix well with electric-types.”

Ghetsis reached over and picked up Amoonguss, cradling him in his arms, just so he wouldn’t witness Galvantula getting his yearly injection. Fortunately for Galvantula, by the time he was diagnosed with his exoskeletal arthritis, N was able to explain to him why he needed to take the yearly injection. It was for his own good, after all the gene that caused this autoimmune disorder was also the one that made him a shiny. Galvantula sighed and took a deep breath. He hated the injection; it stung and burned, but he knew he needed it. After all, it calmed the pain he felt on his joints for most of the year until it was time for the next injection.

The nurse was surprised how calm the Galvantula was. Electric pokémon usually didn’t handle injections well. It was standard protocol to save documentation and shut down computers since the pokémon caused a mini-blackout in the room.

She went to turn on the computer. After logging in, she opened the chart up and documented that she had given Galvantula his medication. Anthea looked over and said to her father, “Sir, you caught this pokémon back in 1973?!”

“Yes,” replied Ghetsis. “Actually, we met each other way before that. In 1973, I had gone shopping with mother and bought a single pokéball with my allowance money. I bought other things too, since I suspected that she wouldn’t have approved of me catching pokémon. I had seen how the actors ‘caught’ pokémon in the movies. Which, I admit, is very unrealistic. I told Joseph to press the button and held the ball close to his face. He headbutted the ball and allowed himself to be caught.”

“I caught Jolene just like that too,” said Anthea as she handed her father back his pokéball.

Ghetsis smiled gently, albeit slightly distrubed by the reply. “Yes, this is how pokémon should be ‘caught’. That they’re willing to team up with us in this way. We don't usually see this growing up, and never think that there are more appropriate of catching pokémon.” Taking a deep breath, Ghetsis recalled Galvantula into his ball, so he could rest. 

As much as it pained him to do it, he had no choice but to put Galvantula in the pokéball. This injection made him photosensitive and he was simply too large for Ghetsis to easily conceal. (Ghetsis had actually switched Joseph out of his original ball. The original ball had cracked a bit after having it for 5 years. But many old-school regular pokéballs were cheaply made, to force trainers into replacing them every so-often. The Premier Balls, on the other hand, were always high-quality. In fact, the one Ghetsis owned was quite valuable. Since the company that produced it became defunct in the early 1980s.)

Next up was Amoonguss, who needed his eyes examined. Unlike Galvantula, all of his information needed to be manually uploaded into the system because Ghetsis had caught Amoonguss with an Apricorn Ball that wasn’t digitally upgraded. The nurse offered to digitize his pokéball, which made Ghetsis panic. Without thinking twice, he blurted out, “That’s unnatural!”

“But sir, a digitally-upgraded pokéball makes it easier and convenient to have Caesar’s documentation and charting available,” said the nurse.

Since he had done this with Galvantula’s ball, Ghetsis said, “Well then, do as you wish.”

The nurse ordered Anthea to go fetch her the digitizing chips. Once she was gone, the nurse said to Ghetsis, “Look, I’m not in the mood to listen to any more of your ‘pokémon liberation’ nonsense.”

“Of course you’re not, you work for the league,” replied Ghetsis quickly. "I'm not going to waste my time speaking to someone who I already know isn’t going to listen. It's common sense.”

The nurse wasn’t expecting his answer, despite it being reasonable and true. Clearing her throat, she said, “Well, I’m not going to allow you bombard my student nurse with your misinformation.”

Ghetsis laughed haughtily, and smiled calmly. He missed being able to maintain his cool, but at the same time, the nurse’s obliviousness was amusing. Anthea’s name on her student ID was clearly visible and the nurse had also seen the chart that had his last name on it. He had been “bombarding” her student nurse with “misinformation” all her life. 

Flustered by his sudden sensual laughter the nurse said to him, “Don’t _ ever _ do that again.”

“Stop being a joke, then,” replied Ghetsis, who had managed to calm down.

Moments later, Anthea returned with the chips and the nurse explained to Anthea how pokéballs are digitized. Amoonguss looked on. Offended that the nurse was disrespectful to his friend, he prepared his spores. Noticing that Amoonguss was tense, Ghetsis leaned over and kissed the top of Amoonguss’ cap. The gentle affection completely neutralized the spores he had ready to launch. Amoonguss squealed happily instead.

The nurse managed to see Ghetsis kiss the Amoonguss and felt like she nearly had a stroke. An Amoonguss’ cap was very toxic to humans and instantly caused severe rashes if it came in direct contact with skin. However, an Amoonguss whose friendship with its trainer was maxed out, was completely non-toxic to its trainer. (This is the case with other poison-type pokémon too. The main reason, of course, was that love is a very real and tangible thing.) Ghetsis was unharmed and shot a naughty glance at the nurse.

The nurse's face went flushed, as she continued to prepare the ball. Finally, she finished and told Ghetsis to recall his Amoonguss into the ball. He did just that and handed the ball over to her. The nurse placed the ball on the stand and synced it to the data she had uploaded. The process took about a minute since the pokéball was organic in nature. (With synthetic balls, this process is nearly instant.) When it was over, Ghetsis took back the ball and summoned Amoonguss back on the examination table.

The nurse left with Anthea because it was the head nurse, who needed to perform the eye exam. As Nurse Joy and her Audino entered the room, the nurse signaled to Anthea to meet her in a quiet corner. 

Whispering, the nurse said, "Please don't listen to Ghetsis. He says a lot of 'reasonable sounding' nonsense to get the public on his side." It was then, that the nurse read Anthea's student ID. Feeling like her soul nearly left her body, the nurse said, "You're his relative, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Anthea, as she watched the nurse squirm upon hearing her answer. Anthea said nothing, after all, she was surprised the nurse hadn't made the connection sooner since they've been together this entire week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Shiny pokémon and the possibility of genetic disorders associated with this mutation because most of the shinies I've caught in Pokémon Go have bad appraisal scores.
>   * The Joltik line are the JoJos of Pokémon. And of course, Caesar doesn't die and he grows old with Joseph.
>   * I want to know when Pokéballs became digital. Supposedly, the modern ones were invented in the 1920s. But the 1920s were an analogous era. Yes, I'm thinking of them like radios, cassettes, and CDs. (The info in the fic to upgrade/digitize these retro balls is my headcanon.)
>   * Ghetsis is a Sage for a reason. He's smarter than he looks, despite being the himbo of Team Plasma's Seven Sages. (This is clearly why he's the "representative" and not the boss.)
>   * Obviously, Ghetsis went all the way down to Aspertia City, instead of somewhere close like Opelucid City, just because he wanted to visit his daughter during class. He did the same the previous year and visited the Pokémon Center she was stationed at.


	14. Smoke or Water?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N picks up Ghetsis from Aspertia City and they stop in Floccesy Town to buy lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * This chapter is named after the Windows Media Player preset animation "[Battery: Smoke or Water?](https://wmpvis.fandom.com/wiki/Battery/Gallery)" Because I want you to feel old while reading this fic. Think of it as overkill, if Ghetsis’ multiple anecdotes of things he did back in the 20th century weren’t enough.
>   * N has a dirt bike, because I can see him driving one of these instead of a car. Even though he probably knows how to drive a car, but he rather go off-road instead. Sure beats skateboarding, which he’d probably do if he didn’t need to travel to the other side of the region. 

Ghetsis sent a group message to the sages, asking them whether he should linger in Aspertia City and wait for Anthea to finish her day or if he should wait in getting a ride back home. In the chat, all of the sages were frantically writing their replies to their leader. However, Ghetsis quickly replied, “Nevermind”, making all the sages stop typing.

N had pulled up to the Pokémon Center, on his Yanmaha dirt bike. N had made up his mind to pick up his father, but somewhere along the way, he forgot to tell the others about his plan the day before. N had been meaning to travel to Aspertia City, since he hadn’t visited the southwest part of Unova. Ghetsis had no idea how to feel about N’s surprise arrival. He finally decided that he should be grateful. (After all, no irresponsible son would ever think about picking up his father from an appointment. An irresponsible son would let his father figure out his own way back.)

“It’s good to see you, my king,” said Ghetsis, with a warm gentle smile.

“You too, father,” replied N. “I’m starting to regret selling the Cold Storage. We could’ve stopped by and picked up something to eat on our way back.”

“We had no choice,” said Ghetsis. “The money we made from its sale was exactly the right amount to cover the hospital bills. How were we to know that the court would have ruled in our favor? Besides, there are many good farms in this area. We can always purchase some produce directly from local farmers and cook up a nice meal for the two of us. This is what young trainers did in my day, when they set out on their journeys.”

Ghetsis was unfortunately mistaken. Very few young trainers cooked their own meals on their journey. Many just ended up eating at restaurants or from food trucks. (There’s a reason that “The Trainer Thirteen” exists; they gain at least 13 lbs from dining out all the time.) But then again, Ghetsis truly was an outlier. His intentions with his journey were simply to make new friends and to get out of the house, but he only accomplished the latter. He did enjoy his journey, traveling the countryside at his own pace, accompanied by his childhood pokémon friends and his starter.

While Ghetsis happily rambled to his son, Cheren finally left the Pokémon Center too. He was eager to return to his gym, that he didn’t notice Ghetsis and N, until he felt a familiar foreboding sensation. It was when he noticed that N had locked eyes with him again, this time, N was actually upset with him. As far as N was concerned, Cheren was stalking his sister and his father. He had always had a bad feeling about Cheren, and all these recent encounters proved him right.

N handed his father a helmet, but Ghetsis first had to tie his hair back. When he was ready, he put it on and climbed on the back of N’s dirt bike. Concerned, Ghetsis asked, “What are you staring at?”

“A troublesome thug,” replied N, as he finally stopped giving Cheren a Mean Look, and drove away.

Once free, Cheren put his hand on his chest, since the Mean Look felt more intense than before and Cheren was struggling to breathe out of fear. Angry that N had rendered him weak in public, Cheren swore revenge on N. Though this was a foolish thing to do, since N was a random encounter NPC. The odds of seeing N again were unpredictable.

The Harmonias headed north up Route 19, onto Floccesy Town. The first building they saw was Floccesy Town’s Pokémon Center. Ghetsis rolled his eyes and said to N, “Watch, they’re going to tell Anthea that her next rotation will be here.”

N laughed and they stopped in front of a food truck that was parked behind the Pokémon Center and in front of Floccesy Town’s Old Clock Tower. Even though Ghetsis wanted to cook his own lunch, he was already hungry too. Since it wasn’t lunch time, there was no line in front of the food truck. Ghetsis and N looked at the menu before ordering six tacos, and two Lemonades. They paid with cash.

As they waited, Alder, his grandson, and his grandson’s two friends were also walking down to the food truck. Since this food truck was the only restaurant in this part of town, the lines always got long during lunchtime, but Alder always went around this time, to avoid the wait. Since his vision was as sharp as ever, Alder immediately recognized Ghetsis, unlike the food truck vendor who saw him as just another random passerby. Alder didn’t recognize N but he looked just like Ghetsis did back when they both went to pick out their starters in Nuvema Town. 

Alder couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. Unlike Ghetsis, Alder had no relationship with any of his kids. This was entirely Alder’s fault, since he spent his youth living an itinerant lifestyle, catching and training his pokémon, with the occasional side fling. Raising his grandson couldn’t compare to how it would feel to have raised his own kids. The Harmonias said nothing to Alder as he approached the food truck with the young school kids.

The young school girl who was with Alder, said to Ghetsis and N, “Hi.”

Ghetsis and N smiled at her, acknowledging her greeting, but didn’t reply. Meanwhile, Alder made his usual order. As he waited, he looked over at the Harmonias, who were both standing there quietly. Alder had no idea what the pair was doing or planning, since Ghetsis was dressed “normally”, and their silence felt unnatural and wrong. 

Unable to tolerate their silence, despite only being there for about a minute, Alder asked them, “What are you two doing here?”

“I’m traveling with my son,” replied Ghetsis.

“No fake answers, tell me the truth,” said Alder. “What are you planning?”

“There’s no such thing as a fake answer,” replied Ghetsis. “Whether or not the answer contains truths or convenient truths is up to the recipient.”

“I don’t have time for f…messed up riddles,” said Alder.

“Stop talking to me,” said Ghetsis. 

Just then, the food truck vendor finished up the Harmonias’ tacos and served it to them on a white styrofoam container, along with two bottles of Lemonade. N thanked the vendor and handed his father the food. Since Alder was there, they decided to take their lunch and eat somewhere more private. As the Harmonias took off, the vendor asked Alder, “Do you know him?”

“Yes,” said Alder. “That pitiful man was the other kid who picked out his starter the same day I did.”

“Oh…so he is your rival?” asked the vendor, intrigued by the answer.

“Not the way you mean it,” replied Alder.

“Of course, I was just teasing,” said the vendor as she took the meat off the grill. “You two are clearly incompatible, despite being the purest Unovan men I have ever seen.”

“He’s too white,” interrupted Alder.

“Being Unovan isn’t about your skin color or your heritage,” said the vendor, as she prepared the sandwiches. “It is about being one with the land and its pokémon. It’s why our ancestors, The People of the Vale, decided to learn pokémon moves and abilities; an attempt to learn the pokémon’s culture in order to understand and make peace with them. If being 'too white' makes you less Unovan, I wonder what you think of your light-skinned grandson.”

"Don't compare!" snapped Alder. "Benga is a true Unovan like you and me."

The vendor handed Alder the styrofoam containers with their sandwiches. "I see…" 

Unaware that they were talking about him, Benga approached Alder along with his two friends, “Can we eat here? It's nice today.”

“Yeah,” said Alder, as he handed the kids their containers. Alder leaned against the side of the food truck and ate next to it. He turned to face the vendor.

She continued, “You know the rest…foreign imperialists came and destroyed everything. Finally, forcing us Unovans to act like them, and making us detach themselves from nature, because only then could those imperialists beat us into total submission. This rival of yours has an indomitable wild spirit that those imperialists could never destroy and so does his son. I respect them for this.”

“I hate that what you said to me makes sense,” replied Alder.

“Understandable,” said the vendor. “You two are rivals for a reason. One of you is a man guided by the Truth in what he’s observed, and the other is a man guided by the Ideals of his spirit. But I can’t tell which one of you is which, because like I said, you two are pure Unovan men and that doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Hey!” snapped Alder.

The vendor nonchalantly shrugged at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * “Mean Look” affects the sympathetic nervous system. In other words, if messes with your flight or fight response. For Cheren, it felt more intense because he was triggered.
>   * I considered writing a mini-story about Alder and Benga. How Benga was a troubled boy and given to his grandpa as some last resort. But Alder’s wild lifestyle was exactly what Benga needed. <strike>I didn’t want to derail this or had thought of a concrete plot for it. Perhaps someday, IDK</strike>
>   * “Pure Unovan Man”, in this conversation’s context, just means some wild/feral/cryptid/forest spirit-type man who is a protector of nature. To the vendor, both of them are like this but as two completely different variants. Alder is the typical wandering hermit who atones for his sins. Ghetsis is the outcast who has decided to become a pokémon because he cannot live among humans. Apparently, in this AU, both these tropes are very popular sexual fantasies overseas among single moms because they’re lonely and want guys, like this, who are clearly beasts in the sheets..


	15. Feel Trip (The Layover)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> N has his picnic with his father, before heading back home, happily ever after.

Meanwhile, N was quick with his dirt bike that the Harmonias arrived near Driftveil City in less than ten minutes. N made his way to the Cold Storage facility, only to discover that it had gotten completely demolished. His heart sank when he saw what had occurred. From the looks of it, this demolition had started at least a week ago. N parked off-road, overlooking the site, and Ghetsis pulled out a small tarp that N carried on his dirt bike, laying it on the grass, underneath a large tree.

Ghetsis and N prepared to eat their tacos together. Ghetsis adjusted his monocled eyepatch and said, “So it would appear that the ‘Miner King’ himself purchased the Cold Storage. I can’t read what he’s trying to build but I can see his emblem on the construction signs.”

“The sign said ‘Pokémon World Tournament Stadium, Coming Soon’,” replied N.

Ghetsis frowned, disturbed by what he had heard. It nearly took his appetite with it but the tacos smelled good. He took off his gloves, setting them aside. They sat down and ate, despite being so displeased with the view now that knew what was going on. This construction project was perfectly legal. After all, its intent was to draw in tourism to stimulate the local economy. And more affluent trainers were known to travel throughout the globe in the quest to "Catch 'Em All".

“Father, we should do this more often,” said N. “Just you and me, traveling around Unova together. I can show you all the best spots the pokémon have told me about. They’re all great!”

“I’d love to but we both have important commitments,” replied Ghetsis. “We’re the sovereigns. It’s our duty to rule. Even now, I can’t help but feel a bit…antsy. There’s much to be done and I don’t have much time.” Ghetsis took another bite out of his taco.

“Don’t worry, the Sages got this,” said N as he took a sip from his Lemonade.

Ghetsis was both in awe and terrified that N had so much faith in them. Uncomfortable, he tried to change the subject, “Tell me, my king, did you ever solve the puzzle Ryoku gave you? I’ve been meaning to ask you, but I’ve always gotten side-tracked.”

“Yes and no,” replied N. “I need Zekrom and Kyurem to solve it. I’ve rescued Zekrom’s Dark Stone, but I cannot summon Zekrom. I’ve tried asking Reshiram, who insists that only the Hero of Ideals can do it. As for Kyurem, I’ve heard rumors from the pokémon that he’s been abducted by an ‘alien’.”

“The word ‘alien’ is sometimes used as a 'slur' against Kalosians,” said Ghetsis. “Supposedly, their ancestors came to our world after they destroyed their planet in a celestial war. These extraterrestrials mixed with humans. The people who use this 'slur' insist that this is why Kalosians are more technologically advanced than the rest of the world. I know this because I’ve heard ‘alien’ used against Sage Zinzolin first hand, and he later explained its origins to me.”

Seeing that the conversation had taken an unpleasant turn, N looked through his pant pockets, pulling out a plastic bag which contained one Tamato Berry and one Magost Berry. “Excuse me, but I almost forgot about the dessert!”

Ghetsis smiled, “I recognize these fresh berries, saw them this morning when I was watering the garden. Still unsure whether or not we should overturn the previous administration’s ban on growing berries. From what I remember, gardening was banned over some nonsense about the berries attracting hostile wild pokémon to people's yards. This was a victory for certain corrupt agricultural lobbyists because Unovans are forced to pay too much for berries or harass wild pokémon to get them.”

Handing the Tamato Berry to his father, N replied, “Of course we should overturn it. It’s one less reason for people to go out and bother wild pokémon who are minding their own business.” N got the Magost Berry, wiped it on his shirt and took a big bite out of it.

Ghetsis wiped the Tamato Berry clean on his own shirt too, before taking a bite out of it. Unlike most normal human beings, Ghetsis was unaffected by the berry’s spiciness. But then that’s because he was careful and didn’t bite down on the soft seeds. He looked at N warmly and said, “I love you.”

N nearly fell over. At that moment, he remembered that Tamato Berries raise Friendship. He had only picked that berry since his father loved eating them (to flex on people), and because Victini had told him that it was a potent decongestant. The last time N had heard his father saying that he loved him was back when he was a preschooler, shortly before his mother died. N even remembered the occasion, they were sitting near the pond watching some Tympoles swimming around. There was nothing remotely special about this moment. As far as N was concerned, his father randomly said it, but was completely appropriate for the occasion. N was overwhelmed because the phrase made him aware of the void he felt in his heart. Finally, N spoke, “I love you too.”

Ghetsis looked at N in complete disbelief. Given what he had discovered in Alola, when he traveled through the Ultra Wormhole, he didn’t think it was the case. N, much like his sisters and the sages, were quick to abandon Ghetsis, despite all his previous kind actions over the years. Ghetsis spent a long time reflecting upon his relationships with them; comparing and contrasting these relationships to the events that occurred in the regular world. In the end, he noticed no difference, realizing that his regular world counterpart was right in not giving them a single ounce of his love. He felt foolish for not doing the same, because then he’d already rule Unova himself as its dictator.

What has prevented his dictatorship was being unable to follow through on the next part of his plan – eliminating N. It was the most logical step but he couldn’t do it for some reason and he didn’t understand why. Because of this, he decided to go to Alola when a Kantoan man named Giovanni stepped out of the Ultra Wormhole and invited him to travel there with him. Ghetsis assumed that this trip would help him make up his mind once and for all. It did not. When he discovered how the others were as cold and heartless as he was, yet only _ he _ was painted as the villain, the decision to personally execute everyone when he returned, was justified. He had also come to realize that traditions, many of which he held close to his heart, were worthless and that he wasted his time trying to preserve them.

But when he was sent back to his world, the effects of the multiverse travel wiped several pokémon moves from his mind. The motivation to follow-through on his plans to eliminate disappeared alongside these moves. Now, he was physically weaker and surrounded by untrustworthy people. Anger over his increasingly feeble state and sorrow that he wasted his life loving things he shouldn’t have loved, were the reason that Ghetsis felt he couldn’t stop crying. He was lucky he had managed to gain some composure. Otherwise, he would’ve burst into tears the instant that N told him that he loved him too because N’s lie hurt him like salt on a wound. Fortunately, the Tamato Berry he was eating reduced the emotional pain he felt because it was tasty. 

Ghetsis chuckled, “N, you should’ve told me you brought this Tamato Berry with you. We could’ve split it in half and diced it up for our tacos. No matter, they’ll mix in my stomach now.”

“Tamato Berries are your favorite,” said N. “That’s why I picked the biggest ripe one just for you.”

“Thank you N,” replied Ghetsis. 

The pair finished eating their lunch. Since their hands were greasy, they decided to clean them. They rinsed their hands with a bit of water from Ghetsis’ water bottle, patted the dirt on the ground with their wet hands and rubbed their hands together. They took turns rinsing off the dirt and their hands were now clean. They carefully placed the empty styrofoam container and empty Lemonade bottles in a plastic bag, before getting back on N’s dirt bike. Once they were ready, N took off and they hurried back home. 

As N drove, he couldn’t help but wonder about his father’s surprised expression; almost as if his father didn’t believe that he loved him. His father was acting strangely after his travel and N had a very bad feeling about Giovanni when he saw him. N wondered if perhaps Giovanni or others there in Alola, poisoned his father against him and the sages as well. He had noticed that his father had become quite distant from the sages, whereas before, he was practically inseparable from them. After all, they were his first human friends he ever had. What made it worse was his father’s refusal to admit that something was wrong. (How could anyone help him if they didn’t even know what was wrong?) 

A thought suddenly occurred, what if part of the reason his father felt this way was because N refused to rule Unova? His father valued tradition and N refusing to fulfill his duties was rejecting something his father cherished and found comfort in. This made sense since his father had mentioned that he failed to continue the family legacy, since N really wasn’t into being a king. N made up his mind to focus on ruling Unova. Perhaps then, his father wouldn’t feel like he wasted his life for nothing and be happy that N respects his wishes because he loves him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   * Kinda obvious why Ghetsis can't kill N. Somewhere, deep down, he loves his son and meant what he said. (Don't forget that he's also the most cursed of the inhuman freaks. The curse has affected his mind to where he thinks his intrusive thoughts are valid opinions.) He thinks nobody cares about him, yet everyone close to him was always asking him if he needed help or wanted to vent.
>   * The concept behind this take is simple. It's easy for everyone to say that Ghetsis manipulated everyone from the beginning than to admit that they all were absolutely passive to his gradual corruption. People are quick to blame than to take accountability for their own actions. Having said this, the other Sages are completely to blame for not doing enough. Ghetsis was practically orphaned before he reached his 30s.
>   * As mentioned in [Chapter 1](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21220373/chapters/50521082), Ghetsis is partially a pokémon and just enough to get affected by berries just like pokémon. However, he's not mutated-enough to get captured by a pokéball. Because if he could get captured, his enemies would trap him in one forever.
>   * Speaking of berries, Ghetsis can grow tress in the castle property due to a legal technicality. Since Team Plasma Castle (formerly called "Harmonia Castle") is a historical building, the old berry trees on his property remained untouched. This also implies that regular citizens were not so lucky and when this cruel law went into effect, they either had to cut down their berry trees or mess them up in a way that they could no longer produce berries. And yes, this is a dystopian take on why there's no berry gardening in Unova. XD

**Author's Note:**

> **EDIT: 15th of August, 2020** Disabled the comments because this was intended to be a self-indulgent thing. XD
> 
>   * According to my friend, "Nobody wants to see Ghetsis as a sympathetic man, I’ll tell you that." So I took that as a challenge when writing this. (Whether or not I passed this challenge is up to the readers' interpretation.) It was an interesting but enjoyable challenge for me, which I feel is the most important thing. I did enjoy reading this while editing.
>   * I don't think I'd be able to write another regional antagonist in a similar way. Even if I was tempted to do something Sinnoh-related or Kalos-related, since both these regions were so prominently mentioned in this fic. I'm probably the least capable of tackling them. Unova is easy only because I'm an American...even though the United States doesn't have a monarchy.
>   * This was the same in the other fics, but Ghetsis' pokémon (both in his party and that he just keeps loose in his home) each meant to represent a certain aspect of him. Like how Cofagrigus was a scheming manipulative bastard, Hydreigon was an entitled bratty prince who threw tantrums when he didn't get his way, Bisharp having his existential crisis, or Amoonguss pretending to be a proper gentleman when that wasn't who he really was, etc.


End file.
